my my, how did we ever survive the 1918 pandemic? (my Dad did, as an infant he got that flu and lived into his middle 80's)

The harsh reality is that however tragic and however many may die in a bird flu pandemic, it is unlikely to end the world as we know it. Yes, bad for you or your family if you get it, but in the scheme of things, a bump in the road.

I'm more likely to be killed during my 7 mile commute to work by the good folks talking on their cell-phones while diving then by the bird flu: forced off the road twice in the last year!

Pay attention people this man knows his S#!#.

It doesn't even have to be an avian flu- a normal, "human" strain could mutate and turn into a monster. Stuff happens, and the more I learn about virii the more I worry. :P

That is very true. The most likely scenerio is that someone will be infected with strains of both normal and avian flu at the same time. In such a situation the two viruses could swap some DNA and make an offspring with all the fatal aspects of bird flu with the quick person-to-person transmission of regular flu.

That's when things turn ugly fast.

-Blast

Great, just great. In that case, I guess I got my flu shot for nothing....

No, it is worth something.

A virus isn't really alive, it a machine made of biological material. Think of them like Legos. Blocks from set A can interact with those from set B easily, if they are in the same container. Because of this modularity, they can mutate faster than most things do, much faster than I would have once given them credit for.

The trick is, (a) getting both strains in you, and (b) having your body not knock out any mutant versions, and (c) having a mutated strain that actually amounts to something.

It is possible and probably more like in our current day over crowded world. Kinda like when there is an over population in the animal world, some kind of disease will raise up and wipe most out ect. Oh yes Viruses are creepy little monsters.

Dave