Bird flu flys into Egypt again

Four new cases of bird flu have been detected in poultry in Egypt, after a two month infection free period.

The last outbreak infected 14 Egyptians, killing six, between March and May after the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry in February and the deadly virus has wreaked havoc on the country's poultry industry.

Health officials say three of the new cases were found last week in domestic or backyard poultry in the Egyptian capital Cairo, while a fourth was detected in a village near the southern city of Sohag, 350 kilometers south of the capital.

Egyptian officials say the four new cases were detected during a surveillance and testing campaign, stepped up in recent weeks, that included random checks on domestic poultry.

These cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus are the first detected in birds in Egypt in two months.

To date Egypt has had the largest cluster of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus outside Asia.

No human cases have been reported since May.

Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance at the World Health Organisation (WHO), says it is evident that the virus is still circulating.

The outbreak has created panic in Egypt where, as in many Asian countries, chicken is a major part of the diet of poorer families, who often have backyard poultry facilities in cities and rural areas to supplement both their diet and income.

Experts have suggested that chickens on rooftops may be particularly susceptible to catching the virus from infected migrant birds, which fly along the densely populated Nile valley during migration.

The government has banned the raising of poultry on apartment roofs.

The WHO says the new outbreak is an indication that the risk still exists for humans in Egypt but health officials believe that a large outbreak is unlikely to appear or spread as long as Egypt continues to vaccinate poultry.

Egypt also has an adequate supply of Tamiflu, the anti-viral medication thought at present to be the best defence against bird flu for humans.

The agriculture ministry says the majority of Egyptian commercial poultry flocks have been vaccinated along with 20 percent of domestic birds.

In order to contain the virus Egypt has culled 30 million birds since February.

Almost all those who became infected with the virus in Egypt, did so after coming into contact with "backyard" birds and the virus remains essentially a disease of birds.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation says the promise of cooler weather in the autumn could induce more cases in poultry, and they have urged increased surveillance along with a fair compensation scheme.

El-Bushra says Egypt has learned from the last outbreak and is well positioned to deal with the virus.

He says they have been very transparent and that has paid off and earned the country the respect of the World Health Organization, international organizations and other countries.