I remember in 2003 on hearing about a case of bird flu in an Asian country. This sent alarm bells ringing for me, as it I knew it could not be contained.
Shortly afterwards I contacted the mother of an employee of a high commission in the country in question, that I knew, to find out what was going on and if any efforts to contain etc., A day or so later I received a very terse reply, "what bird flu?". This alarmed me even more. as it came from a government official!
Without trying to be a profit of doom, suffice to say we are sitting on a time bomb, that will effect us all, sooner or later and it could be like hell on earth. How many were lost in the last outbreak in 1918? 18 million?
I think by the time bird flu really takes hold, closing borders will be futile and too late.