Jamaica?s already fragile public health system could be severely overburdened if there is an outbreak of the Avian Flu (Bird Flu), which some health experts predict could occur by next year.

Allan Wright, of the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies, said that ?the nature of the impact will depend on the severity of the pandemic.? He was one of several persons speaking at a recently concluded Caribbean Community Pandemic Influenza Workshop, held in Kingston, Jamaica.