Egyptian disease spreading

Egypt: Another Human Case of Bird Flu
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

October 12, 2006
Posted to the web October 12, 2006

Cairo

Egyptian health officials on Thursday blamed the most recent case of human bird-flu infection in Egypt on poor observance of government regulations aimed at stamping out the virus.

This came after it was confirmed on Wednesday that a 39-year-old woman in the Nile Delta province of Gharbiya had contracted avian influenza, also known as the H5N1 virus.

"People are sticking to their habits and they are forgetting our message," said Sayyid Abbasi, Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Earlier this year, the Egyptian government and international agencies embarked on a nationwide campaign to persuade the population not to keep poultry inside their homes.

Hanan Aboul Magd is the latest victim to be infected with avian flu in Egypt. She was admitted to hospital on 4 October after she reportedly contracted the virus after buying and slaughtering infected ducks at her home.

Magd is the 15th human case of bird flu in Egypt since the first signs of the outbreak were seen in the country in February. Six of those patients have since died.

Hanan is reported to be in a stable condition, and her family is being tested for the virus.

Egypt's densely populated Nile Valley saw the worst concentration of bird flu infection this year outside Asia. The Valley lies on major routes for migratory birds, and has a large rural population that has traditionally reared poultry for food and income.

The government has overseen the culling of some 30 million birds over the past eight months, and has put into place tough restrictions on poultry keeping. So-called 'backyard birds', which are chickens or ducks kept in small numbers in low-income homes for extra food or cash, have been outlawed.

"It is a matter of changing behaviour. People are sometimes not honest [about keeping birds]. They know they are in danger but for other reasons they still have them," said Dr John Jabbour of the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Department at the World Health Organization's regional office in Cairo.

Dr Jabbour added that the government has succeeded in removing poultry from the homes of people in Cairo "but in more rural areas people are not accepting that they have to get rid of backyard birds".

Minister for Health and Population Hatem el-Gabali said on Tuesday that hospitals across Egypt had been put on a high state of alert.

Egypt

Abbassi, the Ministry's spokesman, said the government was "working to 'recharge' the media message, through all the available channels".

An incidence of the virus among poultry was also recorded last month in the Upper Egypt town of Edfu, although no human infection was reported.

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]