THE BIRDS (Not Hitchcock)

As I am sure that you are all aware of, the "Bird Flu" is being touted as a possible pandemic flu virus. Scientists and politicians alike are all waiting for the moment when the flu mutates into a form that can be passed directly from human to human. Many countries have already confirmed that there is presence of the bacteria infected birds in their country, i.e. Greece, Romania, Russia and China among others. While the U.S. has the luxury of being somewhat cushioned from the virus by the oceans that separate it from Eurasia, this does not inhibit the transportation of people or animals from an infected country into the U.S. LAX has even already put into place a system for bird flu quarantines.

With a virus that has a mortality rate anywhere from 50-75%, what will this do to the economies of the infected and non-infected nations? It's plausible that tourism will take a hard hit in areas such as China where 2,600 birds were just found dead via the flu. Travel could also be totally suspended as it was with the SARS epidemic. The infected nations, as well as those nations that have not yet found strains of the virus within its borders, will all be trying to stockpile vaccines in the coming months. This will raise production within these pharmaceutical sectors. But, will this be enough? Below is an excerpt from Yahoo! article citing the problems with just relying on increased production.

Today's 1950s-era manufacturing method requires growing flu viruses in millions of chicken eggs, and it takes nine months or more to make a batch. Says Beadle: "The pandemic will have come and gone before we have the vaccine. That is what
shocks me."

Is it possible that such a horrible possibility looming in the future could produce technologic innovation and increased production in the economy?