EACH year winter flu kills around 4,000 people in the UK. Globally, between 500,000 and one million people die each year from influenza.

But a pandemic of the human form of bird flu, which experts believe is inevitable, could kill as many as 50million people worldwide.

A single jab that could give lifelong protection against all types of flu has produced promising results in human trials.

The vaccine should protect against all strains of influenza A - the cause of pandemics.

Currently, winter flu jabs have to be regularly redesigned because the flu virus keeps changing.

The new vaccine would overcome this and could be stockpiled in advance of a bird flu outbreak, say experts.

The trials have shown that the jab is safe and it works fast to make the body immune against flu. Scientists are now working to perfect the formulation before doing larger human trials.

Professor Ian Jones of University of Reading, a virologist, said the jab could end the scramble to produce a new winter jab each year. The new jab is something we can all really look forward to.

COUNCILLOR SALIM MULLA, Town Hall, Blackburn.