More than half of the respondents thought that avian influenza was a serious disease (61.9%) and that it was possible to prevent (53.3%). The respondents' level of perceived risk of contracting avian influenza for them and for friends/familiars resulted in a mean total score respectively of 5.9 ± 2.9 and 6.2 ± 2.8, indicating a high risk perception with respectively 19.3% and 20.4% of the respondents having reported feeling "very much" at risk by answering "10". A stepwise multivariate linear regression model was constructed to search for associations with the attitude, aiming at understanding which variable had stronger associations with the perception of risk of contraction avian influenza by the respondent. Respondents considered the risk for them of being infected significantly higher if they were from lower socioeconomic classes, had lower educational level, if they did not know the definition of avian influenza, if they knew that avian influenza could be transmitted by eating and touching raw eggs and poultry foods, and if they believed that they did not need additional information about the disease (Model 4 in Table 3 ).