Bird flu back again in Egypt

Oct 11 2006

According to the World Health Organisation, Egypt has reported it's first case of bird flu in five months.

This latest case has appeared in a woman from the Nile Delta province of Gharbiya; she has been hospitalised since October 4th and is currently being treated with the drug Tamiflu.

Tests carried out by the country's health authorities have been positive for the H5N1 virus, and although she is on a respirator her condition is said to be stable; her family are being tested for the virus.

The virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry in February and Egypt's last case was in May.

At that time 14 cases had been reported since March, of whom 6 died but 8 recovered after being treated with the anti-flu drug Tamiflu.

The 39-year-old Egyptian woman who raised ducks from her home, had a flock of eleven and when two became sick and died she slaughtered the rest before she herself became sick and was hospitalised.

Egypt, a major route for migratory birds, is one of the countries worst hit by the virus and has had the largest cluster of human bird flu cases outside of Asia.

As in Asia, backyard poultry is common in both cities and rural areas and the poor rely on their flocks as a source of food and also as an added source of income.

Almost all of those who have been infected with bird flu in Egypt became ill after coming into contact with backyard birds and as a result authorities there have culled 30 million birds since February in an attempt to contain the virus.

Chickens on rooftops are thought to be particularly vulnerable to infectious migrant birds, which fly along the densely populated Nile valley during migration.

Almost all Egyptian commercial poultry flocks have now been vaccinated, but only 20 percent of domestic birds are thought to have been vaccinated.

Authorities are urging increased surveillance and are calling for a fair compensation scheme.