CAIRO: A new case of human bird flu, the first since May, was detected in Egypt Wednesday, indicating behavior has been slow to change despite widespread awareness campaigns, officials and experts said.
Health officials announced the H5N1 strain of bird flu, its most aggressive form, had been detected in a woman from the northern delta province of Al-Gharbiya.
They said Hanan Abul Magd, 39, was tested for bird flu after suffering from high fever and shortness of breath. She is believed to have been infected when she slaughtered her ailing flock of ducks.
Her infection brings the number of human bird flu cases to 15 since the virus was first detected in February in Egypt. Six cases turned out to be fatal and eight people recovered after being treated with Tamiflu.
But despite widespread government campaigns in coordination with groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the general public, who rely on poultry for food and income, are failing to comply with safety precautions.
There is a big problem with behavioral change in Egypt. People are just not accepting the change, said WHO expert John Jabbour.
Experts had criticized the government for failing to tackle the first outbreak boldly enough. Six people died between March and May this year.
The first time, the government was caught by surprise a little and did not take all the necessary precautions. But they have been working very hard since, said Talaat Khatib, professor of food hygiene at Assiut University.
There is also less of a threat now after the government slaughtered so much infected poultry during the last outbreak, he said.
But while the government did slaughter millions of infected birds on large farms, the question of domestic rearing was and is still a problem.
Teams of experts from the Supreme National Committee to combat bird flu were deployed throughout the 20 affected governorates in Cairo, handing out brochures and offering advice.
The government is trying to control it. But getting into all the homes is a very long and difficult procedure, Jabbour told AFP.
People are still hiding their poultry. There is an awareness problem and a cultural problem, he said.
Abul Magd had been keeping 11 ducks in her backyard. When two of the ducks died, she slaughtered the rest of them.
This is the most dangerous exposure, to slaughter infected animals, said Jabbour. It is something that certainly could have been avoided.
Egypt is on a major route for migratory birds and is the hardest-hit non-Asian country since the bird flu epidemic broke out in 2003.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 148 people worldwide, according to the WHO.
