Branding Pandemics

Well, not exactly, but as the world becomes increasingly smaller with more and more people travelling across borders --- and viruses learning to jump species (they are smarter than we are because they are not concerned about being right -- they just want to survive).

Anyway, now we have an online game called "The Great Flu" --- you can play it online for free:

http://www.thegreatflu.com/ and learn about all of the puzzle pieces our leaders and scientists have to put together to even have a shot (pun intended) at containing the great flu.

From FAST COMPANY:

You're the head of the World Pandemic Control, and you've just received word that Gamers' Flu--a rare, highly contagious disease--is spreading through Europe. Should you close the airports, or the markets? Should you distribute face masks, or isolate symptomatic individuals? Should you improve research facilities, or stockpile vaccines? Whatever you do, you better act fast: People are dying, and money is tight.

No, you're not having the world's most nuanced nightmare. You're playing The Great Flu, a free online video game--yes, video game--developed by Dutch researchers to raise awareness about Swine Flu and similar outbreaks...Even at the lowest difficulty the game delivers a sense of just how difficult it is to handle and contain the spread of a dangerous virus."