Killer Flu
Documentary (45 min.)

H5N1 influenza -- the powerful virus that is raging through the bird flocks of Asia -- has successfully made the leap to humans, infecting hundreds of people and killing 58 as of September 2005. It has not yet become easily transmissible from person to person, but the medical community is preparing for the possibility. Clinical trials of a human vaccine against H5N1 are continuing with promising initial results, and experiments with a number of new vaccine production methods and alternative drug treatments are underway. Similarly, the antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) has shown promise against H5N1 in laboratory testing. Whether the vaccine or drug treatments will prove effective in the event of an actual pandemic, and whether the pharmaceutical industry will be able to ramp up production levels in order to provide enough doses to protect the entire human population remain open questions.