Egypt is taking more preventive measures to combat bird flu New sites infected with bird flu were discovered on Saturday in the governorates of Sharqiya, Qena and Qalioubiya. "Samples taken from the areas tested positive for bird flu," said Mona Mehrez, head of the Central Laboratory for Poultry Monitoring at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. Nearly 137,000 fowl in Sharqiya were culled, with a similar number culled in Qena and Qalioubiya. The government is tightening up restrictions to prevent and limit the spread of the Avian Flu virus. Last week, the Shura Council approved a draft law which would prevent the trade and transport of live poultry among the governorates. The draft had been presented to the People's Assembly for debate, and is expected to be passed within the next few weeks. It was based upon a suggestion made by President Hosni Mubarak to contain the virus which has killed 14 people in Egypt so far. Saleh El-Shemi, head of the Shura Council's health committee, says the draft will make the moving or selling of live birds or poultry illegal, as will offering them for sale in governorates and cities. According to the draft, by 2009 no live poultry will be available to the public. "People must learn to eat frozen chicken for their own health," El-Shemi said. The draft prohibits transporting or selling poultry remnants from infected farms. It stipulates that vehicles carrying live birds must have a medical certificate issued by a veterinarian, stating that the fowls are healthy after undergoing a medical check-up. El-Shemi said the law will not be applied to rural areas or female peasants who rear poultry in their backyards. "Violators are subject to a minimum six-month jail term, in addition to a fine of up to LE10,000 or up to the value of the birds, whichever is greater," El-Shemi added. Abdel-Rahman Shahin, official spokesman of the minister of health and population, said the Ministry of Interior will set up checkpoints on highways and at the entrances and exits of governorates to prevent the entry of vehicles carrying live birds and their remnants. The authorities will also organise campaigns to inspect local markets with the aim of preventing the selling of live birds. "The enforcement of this law will help limit the spread of the virus," Shahin said. The government has banned city residents from rearing birds at home, but has not put the same restrictions in place in the countryside, where five million families depend on poultry as a main source of income as well as nutrition. "Chickens make up about half of the animal protein consumed in Egypt compared to about 26 per cent globally," Shahin said. The production of rural area poultry constitutes only 15 per cent of the overall rate. Although the percentage is small, it could become a serious threat to human health. Mohamed El-Shafei, vice-head of the Egyptian Poultry Union, suggests that the problem could be solved by vaccinating the backyard poultry that is reared in rural areas. While vaccination can help reduce infection rates, it is not the only solution. El-Shafei said that in the past three months, Egypt has succeeded in decreasing the infection rate, through the cooperation of the ministries of environment and health, and by following the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO). There are 14,000 veterinarians in Egypt; 600 for each of Egypt's 26 governorates. "The vets must be assigned to vaccinate the poultry reared in rural backyards. Only 50 million birds have been vaccinated up until now," El-Shafei said. Egypt breeds almost 850 million birds a year, equivalent to over two million fowls per day. However, Mehrez says that the capacity of Egypt's slaughterhouses is enough to accommodate only 30 per cent of this amount of fowl. Several governorates lack mechanical slaughterhouses. Accordingly, people resort to selling the remaining number of poultry alive. "By the end of 2008 Egyptian investors, mainly owners of poultry farms, will build slaughterhouses, thus assisting the private sector in its strategy of fighting Avian Flu, in cooperation with the Egyptian government. Slaughterhouses will be enough for another 30 per cent of Egypt's poultry production," Mehrez added. Egypt has suffered from more human cases of bird flu than any other country outside Asia. It is considered one of the two hardest hit countries worldwide in 2007, along with Indonesia. Since the outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Egypt in February 2006, 34 Egyptians have contracted the H5N1 virus. Most of those who fell ill were reported to have had contact with either sick or dead household birds.
