I think this might help.
Avian influenza (bird flu) has the potential to cause a healthcare crisis of unprecedented
global dimensions. Many predict a global pandemic far worse than the
1918 Spanish Flu, which killed 40 million to 50 million people. A larger, denser
global population, coupled with modern transportation systems of both goods and
people, could result in a pandemic killing far more people worldwide. The consequences
of such a pandemic would stretch beyond just public health. International
relations, commerce, politics, travel, medicine, and economic and social infrastructures
would be affected due to widespread infection and worldwide mitigation
efforts.
