SEATAC, Wash. -- Officials with the Centers for Disease Control gave reporters a look Tuesday at the first line of defense against a possible flu pandemic.

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They showed quarantine stations, including one to be redeveloped for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The current facility at Sea-Tac would likely be inadequate if there were a pandemic.

The new space would allow officials to keep passengers isolated while doctors run tests.

"If the virus changes, or if something else comes up -- this happened with SARS, by the way -- we would go into an active surveillance mode where we would meet every airplane," said Quarantine Medical Officer Dr. Peter Houck.

Houck said that whether or not bird flu becomes a pandemic, it's important to prepare for the regular flu season, which is likely to kill 36,000 people in the U.S. this winter.