Bird Flu movie - “Fatal Contact – Bird Flu in America” ABC presents Movie on May 9th

April 28th, 2006

The Great Influenza by John M. Barry

With ratings competition between the networks this May, there is one sure rating winner with ABC’s movie called “Fatal Contact – Bird Flu in America”. The 2 hour movie will premiere on Tuesday, May 9th during primetime.

The movie is based on the Avian Flu that originated from Hong Kong and the H5N1 virus mutates so that it becomes transmittable from human to human. It is a dramatic representation of what might happen to society and day to day lives of people if it became contagious. Stars in the movie are as follows: Joely Richardson, Stacy Keach, Ann Cusack, Justina Machado, Scott Cohen and David Ramsey.

The movie script writers consulted with John M. Barry, who is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Tulane University and the author of "The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History." In his book, he discusses the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed around 50 -100 million people. He has since added an afterward in this book addressing the concern for today’s potential threat.

Will the movie be worth watching? I think it could spur more fear that the bird flu is coming and it could be good or a bad thing. The reality is the bird flu could happen soon, but is can also take years to develop. Planning in advance what to do if the bird flu does become contagious is important. Closures of schools and large public gatherings could be beneficial in helping prevent the spread of the deadly virus. Pre-planning could save millions of people’s lives.

People are more willing than ever before to start to prepare more for themselves in case of an emergency. FEMA was not able to handle the disaster with Hurricane Katrina, and it was proof that we should be prepared, whether it is for the next hurricane season, earthquake, or even the bird flu pandemic.