Avian flu......

"He's not the only one asking that question. David Nabarro, the United Nations' bird flu czar, said last week that he expects bird flu to reach the Americas in a migratory bird in the next six to 12 months. Federal agencies announced ramped-up efforts to detect H5N1 in wild birds. "We expect H5N1 to arrive in the United States," Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns told U.S. News last week. "If migratory birds can spread it, and we're heading into spring, we need to be prepared." The goal is to create a system to detect the virus's entry into North America early on. With more notice, infectious disease specialists hope they can slow the contagion among wild birds and poultry, thus reducing odds that it will jump to humans or, in the worst case, mutate and gain the ability to spread from human to human, setting off a deadly pandemic."

[Avian flu]