FARGO (AP) - Some 160,000 North Dakotans could be sickened in the event of an avian influenza pandemic, a Cass County health official says.

Dr. John Baird also said some 6,400 people could be hospitalized and an estimated 2,700 North Dakotans could die from the pandemic.

Bird flu continues to spread across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, Baird said, and officials predict the virus will reach the United States.

At this point, the H5N1 virus can pass from bird to human, but it does not spread from human to human. Scientists fear it could mutate into a form that easily spreads among people, leading to a pandemic.

Nearly 150 people attended a seminar on Tuesday in Fargo to learn more about avian influenza and how to prepare their businesses for a pandemic or another type of disaster.

Bonnie Upham, a risk manager for Alerus Financial in Grand Forks, and some co-workers were among those who came to see if any changes were needed to their company's disaster plan.

"It's critical to have a plan so that you're not trying to make those decisions at the time the disaster happens," Upham said.

The 1918 Spanish flu killed 500,000 people in the United States and about 50 million worldwide, Baird said. Fargo's death toll of 200 was primarily young adults, he said. The city's population at the time was about 21,000.

Whether its bird flu or another disaster, businesses must be prepared to respond, said Dave Pattengale of the Minn-Kota chapter of the American Red Cross.

It means going beyond "the basics of just fire," he said.

"Your plans should include planning and education, so every employee knows whats going to happen," Pattengale said.

Disaster plans should include basic survival supplies, ways to protect essential equipment and records, and knowing who will handle decisions and how to ensure staff and customer safety, he said.