For the sanguine among us, here is some (dis)encouraging news.
Associated Press/ September 22, 2005
"The arrival of the deadly bird flu on Europe's doorstep after it killed dozens of people and caused huge economic damage in Asia has the scientific community divided over just how it got there.
"Medical experts blame the scourge's spread on migratory birds but naturalists say the theory is nonsense and argue that the farming of chicken and ducks, amongst which the disease is most prevalent, is responsible.
"The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) believe the H5N1 flu virus is spread by wild species, which carry the virus from infected areas and pass it to other flocks at stop-off points along their globe-crossing migratory routes.
"Birds play a role in the primary infection of the country, but then after that there's no need for wildlife. It will spread very easily from one village to another through trade," said Joseph Domenech, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's chief vet.
"Given that it is a highly contagious disease, we were sure it could spread from one region to another, either through wildlife or through trade and movements of products. So this happened and we are not surprised at all."
"The H5N1 variant of the disease has been known to scientists for decades as a latent killer within the world's bird populations.
"However, it became a global concern when in Hong Kong in 1997 the strain first mutated into a form lethal to humans, killing six people.
"The WHO warned that if the virus further mutated and was able to attach itself to viruses easily passed between humans -- like that which causes the common cold -- the world would face a global pandemic that could kill up to 100 million people."