Agreed Trusbx.

Might I just add one factor to the comparison between previous pandemics/epidemics, and that is the vast increase in air travel.

I don't want to be a doomsdayer, but there is no doubt the sheer numbers of people flying between continents mitigate against our improved knowledge and hygiene.

There seems to be little defence against an infected [ and undetected ] air passenger. I believe there are heat detectors at a few airports which may reveal passengers carrying a high temperature.

If we agree that H5N1 can survive outside the body for up to eight hours, that timespan allows plenty of time for an unmasked carrier to spread the nasty throughout the aircraft.

Eight hours is about the flying time between Australia and Indonesia... a country of 220 million spread over hundreds of islands, with billions of chickens, an endemic bird flu problem, and absolutely no chance of imposing the necessary extermination/hygiene standards on vast numbers of poor people.

Dozens of aircraft fly between Asia and Australia every week...
Oh well...on with the preparations...