2003 was a busy year for virology, but especially for Osterhaus. In addition to his professorship and his extensive policy work, both avian flu and SARS struck in the spring of that year. He became involved in both of them. One moment that Osterhaus especially recalls regarding avian flu is a meeting of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) to determine the necessary policy. The majority opposed Osterhaus' policy view, and rather than conforming, he tried to enforce his view by threatening them with a minority point of view, sketching what might happen should the OMT abstain from following his advice. It proved effective, but also demonstrated the fragility of his position: had he not been there, policy would have been very different (Osterhaus 6 March 2008).