A friend who works at Children's Hospital stated in an email reply to me regarding SARS, that they(Hospital researchers) watch foreign born illnesses such as flus and colds, but always determine the strain to weaken as it travels further from it's initial birthplace. Apparently it's a matter of geography, and though the strain will continue spreading, it cannot be as lethal.
Okay, I'm no MD...but it's put my mind at ease for now.
I wonder where their data came from. People travel around more often and much more quickly than 1918 or 1957.