U.S. Government Issues Viewer's Guide for Bird Flu Movie

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a viewer's guide for Tuesday night's airing on the ABC television network movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America."

The movie traces an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus that begins in a Hong Kong market and mutates into a virus that's easily transmitted from human to human, resulting in a worldwide pandemic.

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The viewer's guide is meant to provide factual information about bird flu. Here's some of what the guide says:

• The movie is not a documentary. It's a work of fiction designed to entertain and is not a factual accounting of a real world event.
• There is no influenza pandemic in the world at this time.
• It's important to remember than, at this time, the H5N1 avian influenza is almost exclusively a disease of birds. The H5N1 virus has not yet appeared in the United States.
• Viewers should remember that the next influenza pandemic could be substantially less severe than what's depicted in the movie or the one that occurred in 1918.
• The movie does serve to raise awareness about avian and pandemic flu, and should inspire preparation, but not panic.
• The film highlights the importance of individual and community planning and cooperation that would be vital during an extended pandemic.

For more information about the viewer's guide, go to the Health and Human Services Web site (www.pandemicflu.gov ).

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