The ironic twist to the bird flu story is that the greatest risk is to free range chickens. Free range chickens are exposed to migratory birds, and the tens of millions of non-free range chickens never see the outdoor skies.
My authority, a professor at Beersheba University, doesn't consider the current bird flu fever to be built on solid biology. She says the only current communication of the fever to humans is through the lungs. So you have to live with the bird to get the bird flu. Eating chickens or birds cannot convey the virus.
Moreover, she points out that few labs in the world can directly detect the virus; all the positive detection involves finding anti-bodies. Since we only test sick or dead birds, we don't know how many birds have the anti-bodies without the actual virus still being virulent in the bird. More over, a vaccine can't be made readily available. The fastest possible vaccine takes several years of growing and safety testing.