This Friday (6 April) marks the one-year anniversary of the finding, in Cellardyke, Scotland, of a dead swan which subsequently tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. What ensued was a flurry of panic as people stopped buying, eating and looking sideways at poultry in the fear that they would catch the virus. Dire prediction followed dire prediction that the end of the world as we knew it was here.

WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?

At the time, the UK's chief veterinary officer, Debbie Reynolds, said bird flu could stay in Britain for a long period of time. "We simply don't know, " she said.

Agriculture minister Mary Coughlan advised the Irish public "not to go over the top on this issue". But Fine Gael's spokesman Denis Naughten disagreed, saying the government could not afford to wait even 24 hours before taking action. Ah, the joys of hindsight.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Absolutely nothing, for nearly a year. After the Cellardyke incident, all went extremely quiet on the bird flu front, eventually leading to the question, "Hey, what ever happened to bird flu?" That is, of course, until the outbreak in a poultry farm in Suffolk in February. But even then, it already seemed like old hat. People went about their business, eating chicken galore, and to this day, it hasn't arrived in Ireland. Touch wood, anyone?