| Somewhere in Southeast Asia (or Africa, | | | | son comes to feed the pig. Heavily |
| the Mid-East, Europe etc) . . . | | | | infected with the contagious form of |
| A hen clucks and shifts around in her | | | | lethal bird flu, the pig snorts and |
| perch. She sniffs and sneezes. | | | | sneezes onto the boy. |
| Inside the lining of her respiratory | | | | Who later rough houses with his friends |
| tract and lungs, millions of influenza | | | | at school, including Pim. |
| viruses -- commonly called A/H5N1 or | | | | Pim takes the virus home to his father, |
| bird flu -- are infecting her cells and | | | | Yu. |
| forcing them to replicate millions more | | | | The next day, Yu takes a bus to Bangkok |
| of the virus. | | | | to buy some supplies and equipment for |
| This is the same virus that's deadly to | | | | his farm. He spends much of the day |
| chickens. People can catch it through | | | | talking over his order with Mr. Chen, |
| close contact with chickens, but they | | | | the owner of The White Lotus Farm Store. |
| can not spread it to other people. | | | | Mr. Chen goes home that evening and |
| The hen excretes, her white waste | | | | spends a lot of intimate time with his |
| material -- full of A/H5N1 -- falling to | | | | wife, who is leaving tomorrow to spend |
| the floor below, mixing in with the dirt | | | | two weeks visiting relatives in Chicago, |
| and other chicken manure. | | | | U.S.A. |
| The pig below the hen also feels ill. | | | | When Mrs. Chen boards the early morning |
| Several days ago, the farmer who owns | | | | Thai Airways flight to Los Angeles, she |
| them both sneezed on the pig while | | | | is not aware that 145 kilometers away |
| feeding her. Now the pig has a case of | | | | from her, a chicken and a pig are dead . |
| ordinary human flu. It's not | | | | . . and a farmer's son and his friend |
| life-threatening to the farmer or the | | | | are too sick to go to school. |
| pig, but it is highly contagious. | | | | Neither do the other 200 passengers who |
| Hungry despite her flu, the pig gobbles | | | | spend 11 hours breathing the same air as |
| down some chicken manure, including some | | | | Mrs. Chen. |
| which contains A/H5N1. | | | | The farmers have taken their children to |
| A/H5N1 works its way through the pig's | | | | the nearby clinic, which has taken |
| body to the pig's respiratory system. | | | | throat samples and sent them to the |
| There, it starts drilling into the pig's | | | | United Nations World Health Organization |
| cells with its spikes of hemagluttin. | | | | laboratories to be tested. |
| There it meets up with a virus of | | | | The doctor is worried, because the other |
| ordinary flu infecting the pig -- just | | | | family members are also feeling poorly |
| like two bank robbers who enter the same | | | | and so many of their farm animals have |
| vault from two sides. | | | | died. He's feeling weak himself. |
| It's not true love, but it's not bad. | | | | After landing at Los Angeles |
| They combine genetic material and soon | | | | International Airport, some of Mrs. |
| have an offspring who's the best of both | | | | Chen's fellow passengers go into Los |
| of them. | | | | Angeles. Some of them go on to flights |
| As contagious between human beings as | | | | to Canada, Latin America and New York |
| ordinary flu. | | | | City. A few plan to continue on to |
| As lethal to human beings as A/H5N1. | | | | London and Paris. Mrs. Chen finds her |
| Soon Junior uses the neurasminadse | | | | gate to a flight to Chicago. |
| protein spikes on his surface to cut | | | | A few days later, WHO and CDC workers |
| himself loose from the pig's cell he | | | | fly to the small farming village and the |
| calls home, and makes his way out into | | | | government imposes a travel ban on the |
| the world . . . to infect his very own | | | | entire province. |
| cell. | | | | In Chicago, Mrs. Chen has taken to her |
| He takes over its genetic material and | | | | bed and her relatives are sneezing on |
| soon has instructed the cell to | | | | their jobs . . . |
| replicate millions more of himself. | | | | Bird flu could become highly contagious |
| Soon those viruses are spreading through | | | | in several ways. Here is one plausible |
| the pig. | | | | scenario. |
| Several days later, the farmer's oldest | | | | |