Hundreds of millions could be wiped out by viruses that have been genetically engineered by terrorists, Bill Gates has warned.

Technological and scientific advances are allowing terror groups to turn viruses into bioweapons of mass destruction.

That makes bioterrorism a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear war, he added.

The Microsoft founder said: “Natural epidemics can be extremely large.

“Intentionally caused epidemics, bioterrorism, would be the largest of all.

“With nuclear weapons, you’d think you would probably stop after killing 100 million.

“Smallpox won’t stop. Because the population is naïve, and there are no real preparations.

“That, if it got out and spread, would be a larger number.”

The Microsoft founder made the bold claims during a security conference in Munich, Germany, over the weekend.

Gates, one of the richest men in the world, runs a charity focused on reducing the cost of vaccines and improving epidemic alerts.

He said developments in genetic engineering were escalating at a “mind-blowing rate.”

That means biological warfare ambitions once limited to nation states are now available to smaller terrorist groups with limited resources.

He said: “They make it much easier for a non-state person. It doesn’t take much biology expertise nowadays to assemble a smallpox virus. Biology is making it way easier to create these things.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun.

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