Criticism for ABC bird flu movie "Fatal Contact"

The ABC made-for-TV movie "Fatal Contact" premiering tonight has clearly attracted a lot of attention--and not just in the media. The U.S. government's PandemicFlu.gov has a section specifically about the film at the top of their homepage, complete with a viewer's guide and Q&A based on the movie. Prepared by HHS, the first bullet point in the viewer's guide is:

"The ABC Movie 'Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America' is a movie, not a documentary. It is a work of fiction designed to entertain and not a factual accounting of a real world event."

Perhaps the two most prominent experts on avian flu outside the government, John Barry (author of "The Great Influenza") and Dr. Michael Osterholm (U. of Minnesota) held their own teleconference yesterday to express concerns about the film, as this story in the New York Times reports.

One brief excerpt about vaccines:

"(Dr. Osterholm) and Mr. Barry disagreed over a scene in which desperate New Yorkers ambush a military convoy escorting vaccine through Manhattan. Dr. Osterholm expects riots over shortages; Mr. Barry felt the scene was exaggerated."

Vaccine shortages would no doubt be a problem in almost any scenario, but whether or not riots could result depends on so many variables that it's little more than blind guessing at this point. However, the fact that the possibility can't immediately be written off as ridiculous is evidence for the need for continued planning and preparation.

Based on media coverage and comments from the film's producers, "Fatal Contact" at best will encourage the public to seek out more information about bird flu (hopefully from responsible, trustworthy sources). To the filmmakers' credit, they link to PandemicFlu.gov on the website for "Fatal Contact," and reportedly will include a similar statement at the film's start tonight. At worst, "Fatal Contact" could trigger unnecessary alarm among the public and only add to the confusion and misinformation circulating about the prospects for a pandemic and the consequences should one occur. We'll wait to judge for ourselves.