I've taken part in an "bird flu meeting", I think the following FAQ about this topic can be interesting for you; they are taken from my notes; I tried to make a good translation, I hope I'm clear.
- What is bird or aviary flu? It is a viral infection that affects wild and domestic birds like chickens and turkeys and causes their deaths
- How the flu is transferred among birds? Birds expel the virus with saliva, respiratory excretions and excrements; they can be affected with material substances and water contaminated by those.
- How the flu is transferred from birds to human? Humans might be affected with a direct conctact with infected animals; contagion among humans might be possible if the dangerous virus form (H5N1) will change by a mutation. Fortunately this mutation is not occurred yet.
- Can we eat chickens and eggs? yes, after a careful cooking (the virus die at 70°C). Cold doesn't kill it.
- Which are aviary flu symptoms in a man? The virus has an incubation period of 7 days; then it manifests itself as a simple flu, or as a ocular infection, or as a serious pulmonary infection.
- Does a vaccine against it exsist? Not yet; scientist are working for this.
- Is a normal flu vaccine useful for a prevention? Yes, because if a man is simultaneously affected by a normal flu and an aviary one he might be a "medium" in which the aviary virus can change with a mutation and can become an human epidemic one.
Remember that the virus is released by a dead bird for 10 days....don't touch dead animals!