That's an astounding mortality rate. Fortunately, that's still a relatively small sample, and unsustainable on a global basis.
Example: From the "Flu Hunters" I learned that farmers in Asia are really into cock fighting. Everybody in the countryside raises fighting bids. Researchers discovered that the primary way people get infected with bird flu is by following local custom. Local custom dictates that the owner of fighting birds personally cleans the air passage ways out by sucking the beaks of his birds. People in the country are not going to change overnight. Ergo: Guaranteed bird-to-human transmission of flu viruses.
People living far from the major cities travel closer regularly to bring their fighting birds. Why? Because Asians love to gamble.
Asia A is from the Big City. He goes to an open air market. There he contacts Asian Y or decides to have sex with a girl he meets Z. (Asians also are wild about sex) A goes to a hotel and has dinner with a friend B who is leaving for Toronto tomorrow.
Within 12 hours after B is exposed to Bird Flu he is sick in Toronto having landed in Vancouver. In cities V and T he infects 3 others, or a total of 6 people, before he even gets off the plane in T. By the time he even knows he is really sick, he may have infected dozens of others. When B gets to Toronto, he also may have infected pets owned by people he visited. Doggies, kitties, lions, tigers and bears catch bird flu easily. The rest I leave to your imagination.
Have a nice day. Stay safe. As for me, I'm not traveling to Asia in the near future.
That's an astounding mortality rate. Fortunately, that's still a relatively small sample, and unsustainable on a global basis.
Why? There have been other pandemics with comparable mortality rates on a widescale basis. The Mesoamerican smallpox outbreaks that followed the conquistadors are a notable example.