Learn the Risks of Avian Flu

— -- Are travelers at risk for the bird flu? What are the symptoms associated with this illness? ABCNEWS.com asked Dr. William Schaffner to answer questions about the risks the disease poses to the U.S. population. Schaffner is an infectious disease specialist and the chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

Question: What is bird flu?

Answer: Influenza comes in a variety of forms and this is a type of influenza that is for all intents and purposes confined to birds.

This virus is found principally in Southeast Asia but it has also infected flocks of migratory water fowl, and their migration patterns extend into Eastern Europe. That's important because it opens up the possibility that this virus could be transported by migratory water fowl and get into the poultry populations of Eastern Europe.

Although bird-related influenza has been known for years, a single strain that could spread geographically so extensively is a new phenomenon.

Question: How is it contracted?

Answer: Influenza is what we call a respiratory virus. When we breath out, there are microscopic secretions that can contain a virus. And if you're close to an individual and in turn inhale those secretions, you can get an infection.

Also, if I get these secretions on my hands I can touch someone else and perhaps inoculate them.

Influenza has the capacity to spread rather rapidly in enclosed spaces, and remember: This is a wintertime virus, as most respiratory viruses are.

Eating an infected chicken won't give you the infection; that's not a risk. The problem is that you don't want an infected flock around that could spread it to more chickens or humans.

Question: What are the symptoms?

Answer: All influenza manifests itself pretty much the same way: You feel poorly. You develop a fever, general aches and pains, you lose your appetite and your energy, and importantly you develop a cough. We're talking about adults here – in children they may cough a little less and have abdominal pain.