From PandemicFlu.gov

ABC TV Movie: Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America

On Tuesday, May 9 at 8 p.m., the ABC television network will air a made-for-TV movie titled "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America." The movie follows an outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus from its origins in a Hong Kong market through its mutation into a pandemic virus that becomes easily transmittable from human to human and spreads rapidly around the world.

The Department of Health and Human Services has prepared a Viewer's Guide and some anticipated Questions and Answers to provide factual information for viewers of the movie.


The ABC Movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" is a movie, not a documentary. It is a work of fiction designed to entertain and not a factual accounting of a real world event.

There is no influenza pandemic in the world at this time.

Also, it is important to remember that H5N1 avian influenza is almost exclusively a disease of birds. The H5N1 virus has not yet appeared in the U.S.

Should the H5N1 virus appear in the U.S., it does not mean the start of a pandemic.

An additional point to remember is that the next influenza pandemic could be substantially less severe than what the movie depicts or that occurred in 1918. For example, the influenza pandemics of 1957/58 and 1968/69 caused so much less illness and death than did the 1918/19 pandemic that many Americans at that time did not distinguish them from seasonal influenza and were unaware that a pandemic was underway.

While the movie does serve to raise awareness about avian and pandemic flu, we hope it will inspire preparation - not panic. There are steps individuals, families and communities can take to prepare. You can keep a supply of food and medicines on hand in case you have to stay home, you can practice good public health measures like frequent hand washing and staying home when sick. There is good information available on www.pandemicflu.gov.

The film does depict scenarios that could unfold should a severe pandemic ever develop, including limited availability of antivirals and vaccines as well as the potential for disruption of supplies, medicines and other essential services.

The film also illustrates the expected months-long delay in developing an effective vaccine against a pandemic strain of influenza once it emerges. This is why, at the President's request, the Congress approved funding for the Department of Health and Human Services to make significant financial investments to improve the technology for vaccine development and to build up our domestic vaccine production capacity, to ensure more rapid availability of vaccine for the population in a pandemic.

The film highlights an important aspect of planning - individual and community planning and cooperation that will be so vital to sustaining communities and neighborhoods during an extended wave of an influenza pandemic. HHS has developed an extensive set of planning documents, including planning checklists for businesses, schools, health care providers, community organizations and states as well as an individual and family planning guide. All of these materials are available at www.pandemicflu.gov.

While the H5N1 virus has not yet appeared in the U.S., and there is no influenza pandemic in the world at this time, it is important for all Americans to be informed about this potential public health threat and some of the steps individual Americans can take to protect themselves and their families in the event of a pandemic.