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GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of a possible new epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS (news - web sites)) in coming months, as winter takes hold in the northern hemisphere.

The Geneva-based WHO also called for a major worldwide vaccination campaign against flu -- whose initial symptoms are similar to those of SARS -- to make it easier to detect any new outbreak of the deadly pneumonia-like disease.

"While the human chain of SARS transmission has been interrupted, many experts are concerned that SARS might be a seasonal disease and return in the next few months, about a year after it first appeared in China," the UN health body warned in a statement.

The rapid spread of the pneumonia-like virus ravaged Asian countries as well as the Canadian city of Toronto earlier this year, killing hundreds of people and inflicting significant damage on key sectors of the world economy, including travel and tourism.

The WHO said vaccinating against the flu would not provide any direct protection against SARS, but "may reduce the number of pneumonia cases caused by influenza that mioght raise suspicions of SARS".

It added: "Decreasing the number of pneumonia cases, through influenza vaccination, can help in the early identification of a true SARS outbreak -- should the disease recur.

"Early detection is essential to keep the disease contained."

The WHO said the flu vaccine was under-used, irrespective of SARS.

Flu poses a serious danger to about one billion mainly elderly and infirm sufferers worldwide -- broadly the same groups as those most at risk from SARS.

Nevertheless, only about 250,000 are vaccinated every year, and up to 500,000 more die every year as a result of flu.