SWINE flu is killing people, so far in low numbers, here and around the world. Can the West produce enough vaccine to immunise entire nations?
And what if the pandemic was genetically enhanced by terrorists with a view to wiping out much of th
e population?
With drug firms struggling to develop vaccines, might authorities be tempted to cut corners and encourage dangerous experiments?
In White Death, Edinburgh-born Ken McClure, 66, shows his knack of predicting apocalyptic events with chilling accuracy.
McClure, who lives in East Saltoun, East Lothian, has had 18 books selling in their millions and translated into more than 20 languages.
He spent many years as a medical researcher and though his books are fiction, his research gives them a chilling edge.
"I usually come across a little fact that interests or alarms me," he explains. "I'll look into it, and if it still interests me I'll write about it, always blurring the edges of fact and fiction."
White Death , written before the current outbreak, looks at terrorism and pandemics. To quote one sentence: "Current intelligence suggests if we don't come up with new vaccines against plague, anthrax, botulism and tuberculosis very soon, we can say goodbye to western civilisation."
But don't panic yet. Remember it's fiction.
