Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned at a health conference in Malaysia about the still-lingering danger of a bird flu pandemic, a risk which is heightened by complacency. The official said that she thinks complacency is indeed "public health enemy No. 1," heightening the risk of many outbreaks beyond bird flu.

Gerberding urged to continue preparations for a possible outbreak, so that countries can be ready in the event of a possible mutation which might allow the virus to spread among humans. She also warned that preparedness is only as strong as its weakest link.

Also, at the same international medical conference, another expert has warned that bird flu might hit hard the world's poorest areas. Juan Lubroth, a senior official with the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization, warned that countries already struggling with the current global food crisis will be heavily affected by the death of poultry.

Poultry is the meat of choice for most of the world's poor. Already, 240 million birds have died or been slaughtered, and millions of people's livelihoods shattered, the official warned.

Ten days ago, researchers have announced in the New England Journal of Medicine the development of a new bird flu vaccine which can be multiplied easier and faster. With the classical vaccine production method, using the embryos of hens' eggs, it takes around 22 weeks for the vaccine to be made. This can be too long should a pandemic break out. The researchers developed a method which involves green monkey cell lines, yielding the vaccine in just 12 weeks.

The new H5N1 vaccine was tested by Baxter Bioscience researcher Hartmut J. Ehrlich, MD, and colleagues on 275 people. They noticed the two-shot series provided 76 percent immunity to the bird flu virus, much better than other vaccines. The explanation lies in the fact that Ehrlich's team used whole virus that has been killed by chemicals and ultraviolet light, rather than virus fragments as is the case with competing vaccines.