| Lee tried to stifle a sneeze but couldn't. | | | | off-peak hours and public transport was |
| Invisible to the naked eye, a cloud of almost | | | | ordered to run 24 hours per day. But despite |
| five thousand virus-filled droplets launched | | | | warnings to the contrary, doctor's offices, |
| into the air at some 150 km/ hour or roughly | | | | hospitals and clinics were overrun. Faces |
| 100 mph. Some passengers in the wide-body | | | | masked in paper waited for hours in front of |
| Airbus frowned. The Hong Kong to London | | | | pharmacies in hope of getting relief. Despite |
| flight was long and no one wanted to catch a | | | | clear instructions from health officials, |
| cold. | | | | panic broke out as folk finally fathomed that |
| | | | at best only one third of the population had |
| Lee planned to fill every waking moment of | | | | access to anti-viral drugs. In rural areas |
| his stay in London. A concert at the | | | | and smaller towns, there wasn't any chance at |
| Millennium Dome, dinners at some of the | | | | all. |
| finest hotels, shopping in crowded malls - | | | | |
| "What a chance," Lee thought. All he had to | | | | The Short-term Havoc |
| concentrate on was a few hours in front of | | | | |
| the International Board. It was his job to | | | | Rumors and half-truths began to circulate |
| present sales trends in China to the bosses | | | | causing public outcry and protests. Because |
| who were also winging it towards Heathrow, | | | | the protests only helped spread the flu, |
| one of the world's busiest airports. "The | | | | quarantines were set in place. The public was |
| global executives will get only good news | | | | told to stay at home indefinitely. Vibrant |
| from me," figured Lee. "Pity I don't feel | | | | cities screeched to a halt as public |
| better ..." | | | | transport shut down. Streets stank as garbage |
| | | | piled up. Shops were looted and in some cases |
| The Diagnosis | | | | those caught coughing were stoned. Safety |
| | | | services (fire, police, ambulance) were |
| Lee was exhausted. He had a cough, scratchy | | | | disrupted, fires burned out of control. |
| throat, runny nose and muscle aches. A fever | | | | Cross-border travel was curtailed killing |
| started but it wasn't until Lee began having | | | | tourism and all international sports events |
| difficulties breathing that he decided to get | | | | were cancelled. Food imports were banned |
| help. | | | | creating shortages of meat, vegetables and |
| | | | wheat. Folk with chronic medical illnesses |
| Doctors huddled in subdued discussion. | | | | couldn't get their medications. Soap and |
| Experts were rushed in. It was finally | | | | disinfectants - perhaps the simplest and most |
| determined that Lee's body was fighting | | | | effective fight against the spread of disease |
| strenuously against two viruses. Lee had | | | | - were in short supply; no one had thought to |
| caught a highly infectious Influenza A virus | | | | stock-pile soap. |
| - a flu bug. However, at much the same time | | | | |
| he had also picked up a second virus called | | | | The Controversy |
| H5N1. The two viruses had mixed their genes | | | | |
| and formed a hybrid. Since this was now a | | | | Local governments and health organizations |
| radically new pathogen, Lee had no immunity | | | | began to squabble over who had the power to |
| to it. | | | | do what. The question was of legalities: who |
| | | | would control distribution of anti-viral |
| Lee was not the only one in this fight. | | | | drugs and who would receive those drugs? Army |
| Infected passengers from Lee's plane from | | | | barracks received attention but prisoners |
| Hong Kong had connecting flights to major | | | | were ignored. Families with pets were labeled |
| cities in most continents. The global | | | | as 'higher risk' groups but no-one knew if |
| executives Lee had addressed at the office | | | | these families should receive more help or |
| had also flown home diseased. Sadly, some of | | | | less. As in-fighting became more severe, |
| the medical staff where Lee was diagnosed had | | | | decision processing became more difficult. |
| also caught it not to mention the crowds Lee | | | | Who should give the daily press briefings? |
| had interacted with at concerts, restaurants | | | | Who would organize mass cremation? Who would |
| and on shopping sprees. The so-called Bird | | | | facilitate conferences for global medical |
| Flu or Avian Influenza had indeed spread its | | | | meetings? The list grew rapidly. |
| wings. It was the start of the first flu | | | | |
| pandemic of the 21st century. | | | | The Waves |
| | | | |
| The News | | | | The first wave of the pandemic was over in |
| | | | three months time but not the shock. |
| Had Lee or any of the others known in time, | | | | Bacterial disease such as cholera multiplied |
| they would have taken anti-viral drugs hoping | | | | rapidly with catastrophic results across |
| to block or at least slow down the | | | | Africa and Asia. The longer-term, global |
| replication of the virus. At least the | | | | recession began with the realization that |
| severity of some symptoms might have been | | | | supply-lines, manufacturing and |
| eased not to mention a reduction in the | | | | food-production chains were desperately |
| duration of sickness. But time had run out - | | | | weakened through labor loss. Medical |
| anti-viral medication needed to be taken | | | | facilities were terribly understaffed. As |
| within 48 hours of the first stages of the | | | | usual, the poor had little chance of aid at |
| disease. | | | | all. And then came the second wave of Avian |
| | | | flu. It took over a year before the waves of |
| It wasn't long before Lee was put on a | | | | sickness and death became controllable. |
| respirator in quarantine. It also wasn't long | | | | |
| before the media found out Lee had Bird Flu. | | | | Lee actually survived it all. Although he |
| The public became nervous. The number of flu | | | | "started" the pandemic, he also helped "end" |
| patients - real or imaginary - multiplied | | | | it. Doctors used his blood to find the |
| dramatically but nurses and hospital staff | | | | initial vaccine. Since Lee was also now |
| were strangely missing ... using overdue | | | | immune, he not only volunteered to help where |
| holiday time or just not showing up for work | | | | he could and also founded the World |
| at all. It was announced that schools, | | | | Association of Sensible Hygiene (WASH). More |
| restaurants, and non-essential businesses | | | | importantly, Lee and others like him helped |
| would be closed. No deadline was given - no | | | | disrupted societies regain their faith and |
| one knew for sure how long the measures would | | | | hope and love. Since this was pandemic number |
| have to be in place. | | | | 11 in the last 300 years, history had taught |
| | | | that it was inevitable that individuals and |
| The Public Announcement | | | | communities and countries would bounce back |
| | | | fairly quickly. But a bitter question |
| Wisely, the public was advised to stock up on | | | | remained. Would Lee and the rest of the world |
| food and water. Newspapers advised people to | | | | be better prepared for the next pandemic? Lee |
| stock up on toothpaste, toilet paper and | | | | wondered that too as he bordered the |
| treasure (cash). People were told to shop at | | | | wide-body Airbus destined for Mexico City. |