One person in attendance, who said he works at a Fortune 100 insurance company and requested anonymity, said his company has taken pandemic planning seriously. "We have almost 30,000 employees, and fully a third of them in the next six months will be able to work remotely," he said.

Near the end of McGee's presentation, an electronic survey asked attendees whether they believe a bird flu pandemic will take place in three years. Fifty-eight percent said "yes," 25 percent "no," and 17 percent were not sure.