Reem Leila reports on a new threat of bird flu Bird flu is again in the air. Health officials say the virus, which reached the nation a few months ago, causing widespread panic and damage to the poultry industry, has been detected anew in four areas across the nation. One case was reported at a poultry farm in the village of Al-Rakakna, in Sohag governorate, some 490 kilometres south of Cairo. Three other cases were discovered in three areas of the capital's suburbs -- Al-Matariya, Hadaiq Al-Qubba and Nasr City. Infected poultry were found in five homes and were immediately slaughtered. All poultry found in the infected farm have also been culled. Health officials have tested individuals who were in direct or indirect contact with the infected birds. All tested negative. Abdel-Rahman Shahin, spokesman at the Ministry of Health, said that 16,000 samples were taken from 1,037 neighbouring villages this week to be tested for the deadly avian virus. "Unfortunately, 25 sites have been found positive," Shahin said. This has been the first case of bird flu among fowl in nearly four months. Egypt reported its first human bird flu case in March. Since then, the deadly H5N1 strain has spread to 20 of Egypt's 26 governorates. Fourteen people have been infected; six have died while the remainder were treated with Tamiflu. The last human case of H5N1 was reported in May, in Minya in southern Cairo. Bird flu has affected several countries and caused substantive damage to the poultry industry in many Third World nations. Most of these countries are bracing themselves for another spread of the disease with the autumn immigration of birds. According to Talib Murad Ali, the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) regional officer for animal health, Egypt has been hard hit in economic terms by the spread of the avian flu virus. Its poultry industry once attracted LE17 billion in investments, and supported almost 2.5 million people. Now, there is no market for its produce. "Worldwide poultry accounts for about 20 per cent of the animal protein consumed. But in Egypt the figure is 45 to 50 per cent. Poultry is now a third of the price of red meat. It is the only protein to which the poor have access to," says Ali. Poultry expert Abdel-Ghaffar Youssef says the global buzz around bird flu has led most Arab countries to refrain from buying poultry from Egypt. Egypt used to export 180 million one-day-old chicks, and 500,000 mature fowl annually. Today, these figures have drastically decreased. It is estimated that the poultry industry has already sustained losses of LE1.25 billion, and up to one million employees have been laid off. According to Shahin, the Ministry of Health was preparing itself for a new flu onslaught. Accordingly, it has updated its plan to contain the spread of the virus which reportedly could gain strength this time around. Some 9,000 employees at the Health Ministry and concerned authorities have been trained on ways to fight the virus. "A nationwide plan has already gone into effect to contain the virus. Clothing and equipment to shield the officials from the virus have been distributed," Shahin said. A specialised centre at the Ministry of Health is following up the developments. "Stocks of Tamiflu have been increased. Some 2.4 million bottles of the drug are being distributed to 118 hospitals in Egypt," he added. Ahmed Tawfiq, head of the Egyptian Veterinary Medical Service (EVMS), says his organisation is already working with the Ministry of Agriculture in a wide-ranging campaign to vaccinate poultry against avian flu. Specialised committees are being formed to inspect chicken farms in Egypt and take samples to guarantee that the vaccination programme is being followed properly. "Poultry breeders and farmers are also provided with protective clothing and equipment," Tawfiq added. Meanwhile, reports of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) infections among cattle have been on the rise. FMD is a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus that mainly affects cattle and sheep. Thousands of cattle have been infected with FMD in some of Egypt's governorates. According to a report issued by the Land Centre for Human Rights, the disease threatens an estimated 2,892,000 cows and 2,410,000 buffaloes, in addition to 3,700,000 sheep which makes up all of Egypt's livestock for this year. Although FMD is a relatively constant feature of farm life, the disease has struck Egyptian cattle with unusual strength. "Usually, FMD doesn't form a real threat despite its continuous existence," said Sami Taha, a member of Egypt's Veterinarians' Syndicate. "The strain this time is harsh, and cattle across several governorates have been dying of the disease." Veterinary specialists are worried they will not be able to cope with the new strain of the disease. Taha said Egypt, which is now fighting avian flu across the country, reported the first wave of FMD in March. Many infected animals with FMD die. Only a few recover but the disease often leaves them debilitated. Veterinarians say that technically speaking FMD is an easily contained disease. However, they quickly add that the limited budget allocated to combat FMD could prove to be a challenge, especially in case of a pandemic. "We have significant expertise in the veterinarian community to deal with a potential outbreak," said Taha. "But we lack the required funds to accomplish maximum efficiency." Humans do not contract the virus and it does not transmit from animals to human beings but an outbreak could drastically affect the local cattle industry and damage the national economy, Taha warned. Tawfiq believes that FMD does not pose a real threat to Egypt's livestock since the required vaccines are available in excess. "The vaccines are now being distributed to farmers and the EVMS is monitoring the vaccinations at a nationwide level," he added. A new outbreak of bird flu and widespread FMD have impacted the supply and demand mechanism of poultry and meat. This is a concern for the government especially with the advent of the month of Ramadan which is typically marked by a high level of poultry and meat consumption. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid have both confirmed plans to widely export meat and poultry to make sure that by Ramadan, expected to start on 23 September, the market will not be short and prices will not be too high.
