Mumps and the Bird Flu

I've been following the mumps outbreak in the Midwest and wondering how comparable it might be to a flu pandemic.

Articles say that is spreads like the common cold - similar to the flu. Reading an article on pbs.org that says they think the mumps got out of Iowa carried by two students on an airplane.

Take a look at a graph I pulled from the PBS article. Look at that exponential growth rate!

Imagine what the bird flu graph will look like.