Bird Flu

There's no denying that Avian/Bird Flu represents a significant threat to life as we know it. The question is, is the threat real, imagined or manufactured? And if it is as bad as is sometimes made out, how will this translate into a global response - will the economic imperative prevail - the same one that has seen Roche revenues rise by 17% recently. (Roche are responsible for the antiviral drug Tamiflu - seen as the best treatment for bird flu.)
Imagine the probable profits if the United Nation's food agency's warning that the virus would soon spread to East Africa eventuated. It could make the slowness of spending on malaria treatments look like a non-issue. Or what if governments of first-world countries planned to buy enough vaccine to cover the whole population in the event of a flu pandemic?
I can't remember which is was, or where I put the information about it - but there is an Asian nation that is talking about ignoring the patent on
Tamiflu and manufacturing their own. Another country is talking about making Tamiflu under licence. And another saying it will ignore the patent completely and just manufacture it. That shouldn't be too difficult as the main ingredient is a common spice (why don't I write these things down when I hear them) - could be star anise. I hope someone somewhere is making sure there's plenty of the plant under cultivation!