Sixty-eight per cent of people surveyed by the Irish Council of Bioethics said they had heard nothing about the risk of a bird flu outbreak among humans.
Although three-quarters of respondents understood what an influenza pandemic was, most did not know anything about the bird flu risk.
The study also indicated that respondents would be willing to share stocks of vaccine and antiviral drugs with poorer nations and would comply with recommendations made by the Government to control an outbreak.
Some of the findings were "surprising", said the council's director, Dr Siobhán O'Sullivan. The survey examined people's understanding about the ongoing risk of an influenza pandemic caused by bird flu.
Those aware of the threat had heard about it from the media and of these, 64 per cent felt that journalistic treatment of the issue had been "proportionate" to the threat, Dr O'Sullivan said.
This indicated a level of public trust in the media, she added. "The fact that people seem to have that trust is very positive."
When asked about the impact of such an outbreak, 60 per cent of respondents indicated concerns about the serious socio-economic consequences for Ireland. Half of respondents felt that a human influenza pandemic was likely to occur within the next 10 years.
The vast majority, 94 per cent, knew nothing about possible drug treatments for flu. While only 16 per cent were aware of any treatment options such as a vaccine, a full 81 per cent recognised that it was not possible to produce an effective vaccine until a pandemic virus had actually been identified.
The survey suggested that the public would be willing to accept measures introduced by Government in response to a pandemic, Dr O'Sullivan said. Almost two-thirds accepted that priority should be given to supplies of vaccine and drugs, with healthcare staff and high risk groups receiving priority before others.
It also showed that about 75 per cent of people said antiviral drugs should be shared with other countries in the event of a pandemic. "That is very much above the European average," she said.
A majority was willing to accept control measures related to hygiene, avoidance of public events and travel restrictions, Dr O'Sullivan added.
"People appear to be unbelievably compliant and would follow advice," she said.
