Bird flu diagnosed at Egyptian chicken farm Printer Friendly Top News U.S. ties with India, Pakistan on divergent paths Kumble leaves England reeling ANALYSIS - Indian Hindus, Muslims seek to rise above conflict Australia ban on uranium sales to India stays--Downer Restive Nepal braces for rebel blockade CAIRO (Reuters) - Bird flu hit an Egyptian chicken farm near Cairo on Saturday and the authorities decided to cull all 10,000 birds there, the state news agency MENA said. Egypt reported its first cases of bird flu on Friday but all of the seven chickens infected were domestic fowl, not on large farms. No humans have contracted the virus in Egypt. The infected chicken farm is at Shibin el-Kanatir, in the Nile Delta 60 km (35 miles) north of Cairo. The authorities have imposed a veterinary cordon three km around the farm and are testing the 12 workers, MENA said. The arrival of bird flu has created panic among many Egyptian and hotlines set up by the government were jammed with calls throughout Saturday. People reported many cases of dead birds found in the street but none of those proved positive. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif advised people who breed poultry at home to get rid of them to prevent the spread of bird flu. "The time has come to get rid of the idea of breeding chickens on the roofs of houses, especially under current circumstances," he said. "The world is moving towards big farms because they can be controlled under veterinary supervision, so if any problems arise, intervening to deal with them is much easier," he added. Many Egyptians in cities and towns keep chickens or pigeons on the roof for their own consumption or as a source of supplementary income. Nazif said the government would compensate the owners of any sick or dead birds. But it is safe to slaughter and eat domestic fowl which do not have the disease, he added. The Egyptian Health Ministry said on Friday it had carried out tests on people living near the seven diseased chickens but no human cases were found. Egypt has tested 37,000 samples from birds since the virus started spreading around the world but Thursday's were the first positive results, it said. To meet an expected increase in demand and hold prices down, the government plans to buy more red meat from abroad, Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told a news conference. Egypt's main suppliers of livestock have been Sudan and Ethiopia. Egypt has banned the import of live birds and has tightened quarantine controls to keep out bird flu. It also cancelled the annual bird hunting season to minimise contacts between people and migrant birds. H5N1 influenza remains mainly a disease of poultry, and has killed or forced the culling of more than 200 million birds across Asia, parts of the Middle East, Europe and Africa. But it has also infected 169 people, killing 91, and is steadily mutating. If it acquires the ability to pass easily from person to person, it could cause a pandemic that might kill millions.
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Yesterday February 17, 2006, the World Health Organisation officially declared presence of the H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus in Egypt.

"There is avian flu now in Egypt," Hassan el Bushra, regional adviser for emerging diseases at the eastern Mediterranean regional office of the WHO said. His response was to the reported presence of H5N1 virus in dead birds in three areas in Egypt - namely Cairo, Giza, and Al-Minya.

Today February 18, 2006, a responsible source from Egyptian ministry of health announced reporting of another 25 cases of infected birds in Al-Minya with aftermath of 35 confirmed cases between birds, yet there are no human cases reported.

=== Control measures ===
Egypt has banned the import of live birds and has tightened quarantine controls at airports to keep out bird flu. It has also canceled the annual bird hunting season to minimize contacts between people and migrant birds.
In Cairo phone numbers 3912136, 3907147, and the hotline 152 have been assigned for reporting any suspected cases. 
A newly formed  unit formed of veterinarians and preventive medicine specialists in Giza actively studying more than 70 reports of dead birds for exclusion of H5N1.

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Naxif has advised people who breed poultry at their homes to dispose of their birds to prevent the virus from spreading.

"The time has come to get rid of the idea of breeding chickens on the roofs of houses, especially under current circumstances," he said.

Many Egyptian citizens breed chickens and pigeons on the roof of their residences for their own consumption and as a source of extra income.

Despite avian flu mainly being a disease of poultry, it has also infected 171 people, killing 93 of them, and is steadily mutating. If it acquires the ability to pass easily from person to person it could cause a pandemic that might kill millions.