Migratory season arouses concerns over a recurrence of last year’s battle with avian flu
CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif chaired a meeting Monday with the national committee for combating bird flu to map out a strategy should a pandemic hit Egypt.
According to the World Health Organization, The world may be on the brink of another pandemic.
Since the first outbreak of the avian flu H5N1 strain in 1997, the organization has documented a total of 256 infected human cases, 152 of which have died.
The government has reported 15 human cases so far, seven of which were fatal. The last victim died late last month.
Should H5N1 evolve to a form as contagious as normal influenza, a pandemic could begin, reads the WHO website that warns of the inadequate supply of vaccines and antiviral drugs at the start of the potential pandemic.
Health Ministry spokesperson Dr. Sayed El-Abasi told The Daily Star Egypt that the ministry has numerous plans to combat the spread of the virus. He didn t, however, provide details.
The meeting came in the light of the upcoming bird migration season, due in Egypt during the period from December to February. The migration is believed to be the source of virus transmission inside the country.
The outbreak that swept through Egypt last year coincided with the migration season.
It s an animal virus. We have to accept that, Talib Ali, regional animal health and production officer for the UN-affiliate Food and Agriculture Organization, told The Daily Star Egypt.
He explained that the danger lies in the possibility of the virus mutating so that it could be transmitted from human to human.
Last year to cope with the onslaught of the illness, the government established a special committee to combat bird flu. The birds on numerous poultry farms were executed on the grounds that they were infected.
The poultry industry suffered major financial losses. A number of its professionals demonstrated, demanding compensation.
The government, however, won t change the procedure it adopted last year, according to Rady. Additionally, the government will keep in mind that the situation might turn into a pandemic, he told local press.
Domestic poultry remains an issue. Most fatalities in Egypt were the result of direct contact between humans and domestic poultry.
In spite of efforts to control it, the widespread practice of home-raising poultry persists. Backyard farms produce a third of the country s poultry production, according to Ali.
Food security, is at the top of the list of concerns, added Ali.
Recognizing the infeasibility of eliminating backyard production, especially since it is the main source of food for many low-income families, he recommends a number of procedures.
He suggests educating these families about hygienic cooking, providing them with vaccinations and compensating them for infected poultry.
