WHEN BIRD FLU COMES HOME TO ROOST.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

Last week, despite a $7 billion proposal to combat the H5N1 bird-flu virus, the Bush Administration released 227 pages pretty much saying that should a pandemic strike, it's every man for himself -- or, at least, every local government for itself.

Which, given Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, we should've pretty much figured out. (Reportedly, none of that $7 billion would filter down to local governments.)

Against that grim backdrop comes an ABC teleflick, ``Fatal Conflict: Bird Flu in America,'' which offers pretty much a worst-case scenario should the virus figure out how to jump from human to human.

The film opens in China, where an American businessman in a factory contracts the disease from an afflicted employee. As he traverses from airport to airport back to his home in Virginia, he spreads the disease to others who do so, as well, and so on.

We then meet Dr. Iris Varnack (Joely Richardson) of the Epidemic Intelligence Service. As she globe-trots in a desperate attempt to put the lethal toothpaste back into its tube, we follow the exploits of Health and Human Services Secretary Collin Reed (Stacy Keach) and Virginia governor Mike Newsome (Scott Cohen), whose initially paranoid response to the outbreak is eventually tempered and humanized. Interestingly, there is no presidential character.

There are, however, a handful of civilians for the more cheesy melodramatic moments. As the tragedy grows more dire, one hysterical character cries, ``There's nothing anywhere but sickness and dead people!'' And indeed, there are scenes upon scenes of neighborhoods being quarantined and, eventually, starved out as food supplies dwindle; hospitals cluttered with the dead and dying, stacks of bodies tossed in bonfires or bulldozed at garbage dumps, as well as subsequent looting and rioting as the world goes mad and National Guardsmen are forced to shoot kids trying to steal vaccines. All this, in an ABC sweeps stunt!

The filmmakers can argue that they're sparking debate and perhaps rallying viewers to demand a more potent response from government officials. But if people weren't interested in the equally disturbing but far more accomplished ``United 93,'' about our recent past, it seems unlikely they're looking to enjoy such a macabre -- and occasionally hackneyed -- vision of a potential future.

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

FATAL CONTACT: BIRD FLU IN AMERICA - Two stars

What: Alarmist speculative fiction about how doomed we all are should bird flu be transferred from human to human.

Where: ABC (Channel 7).

When: 8 tonight.

In a nutshell: Serviceable agit-prop, dubious science, predictable melodrama.

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Photo:

Joely Richardson tries to stop a deadly epidemic in ABC's ``Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America.''