CAIRO: Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no cases have been reported here yet, the Health Ministry said.
The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers.
At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with health ministry workers who came to slaughter the animals and the workers left without carrying out the government order.
“It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country’s slaughterhouses, Health Minister Hatem El-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt’s overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population.
Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahin estimated there were between 300,000-350,000 pigs in Egypt.
Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told reporters that farmers would be allowed to sell the pork meat so there would be no need for compensation.
Further precautionary measures such as the launch of a widespread awareness campaign and an increase in the production of protective masks and anti-viral Tamiflu medicine would also be introduced, he said.
Hassan El-Bushra, WHO’s regional advisor for emerging diseases, said the regional stockpile of anti-viral drug capsules is located in Dubai.
“There are around 3 million capsules in Dubai – enough to treat 300,000 patients, El-Bushra said. The drug can only control the virus in its early stages.
In 2008, following fears over diseases spread by animals, Mubarak ordered all pig and chicken farms moved out of population areas. But the order was never implemented.
Pigs can be found in many places around the Muslim world, often raised by religious minorities who can eat pork. But they are banned entirely in some Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.
In Jordan, the government decided Wednesday to shut down the country’s five pig farms, involving 800 animals, for violating public health safety regulations.
On Tuesday, the People’s Assembly called for the slaughter of the country’s pigs amid fears over the spread of the swine flu. WHO officials made similar recommendations.
Hussein Al-Gezairy, the World Health Organization’s regional director, said on Tuesday that swine flu is a more dangerous epidemic because it can be transmitted between humans.
But he said Egypt is well-prepared to combat the recent outbreak of the swine flu given its experience in dealing with the deadly H5N1 virus.
Eight countries have already reported confirmed cased of swine flu human infection. There 2,498 suspected cased around the world. There are 19 confirmed cases in Mexico, 66 in the US, 13 in Canada, 14 in New Zealand, five in Britain; three in Germany; four in Spain; two in Israel; and one in Austria
The US has already reported its first confirmed death, while out of the 159 deaths in Mexico only seven have been confirmed to have been a result of swine flu so far.
The WHO alert is at Phase 4 of 6, meaning the disease spreads easily but isn’t pandemic.
According to WHO’s official report, the organization imposed “no restrictions on regular travel or closure of borders.
However, at a press conference in Cairo on Tuesday, Hussein Al-Gezairy, WHO’s regional director urged against traveling to Mexico or the US.
WHO did urge people who are ill to delay their international travels, and for those who develop symptoms after international trips to seek medical attention. -Daily News Egypt and agencies
