1918 Influenza Pandemic Agent Reproduced

Looks like the 1918 Flu pandemic at the end of WWI was of an avian variety.

Like the 1918 virus, the current avian flu in Southeast Asia occurs naturally in birds. In 1918, the virus mutated, infected people and then spread among them. So far, the current Asian virus has killed at least 65 people but has rarely spread person-to-person.

But viruses mutate rapidly and it could soon develop infectious properties like those seen in the 1918 bug, said Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger of the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

And

The Spanish flu of 1918 was a terrible pandemic. In a few months, it killed more people than any other illness in recorded world history -- an estimated 20 million to 50 million worldwide, including roughly 550,000 in the United States.

In severe cases, victims' lungs filled with fluid and they essentially drowned in a disease process that took less than a week. It was known for being particularly dangerous to young adults, a group usually less susceptible to flu complications than younger and older people.

Lovely. Preparedness in the US is probably heavily lacking.

President Bush suggests using the US military for quarantine purposes, but I don't see any other suggestions on preparations needed.

I have found several reports stating that the flu shot shortage shouldn't be a problem this year, but does it address the avian flu that seems to be the worry?

I really really don't want to see a pandemic like in 1918.