The life cycle of the Avian Flu virus means it will be impossible to contain this season, reports Reem Leila Egypt is working with other governments and international organisations on contingency plans should the H5N1 Avian Flu virus transmute into a form capable of human to human transmission. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already announced a $13 million loan to Egypt to help address the possible threats posed by an influenza pandemic. As part of the package of measures taken to prevent the virus spreading further, a presidential decree, debated during the last cabinet meeting, will regulate the transport of live poultry. It will also end the practice of selling live poultry which, though banned on a governorate level, remains widespread. "Anyone violating the new regulations will face heavy fines," says Abdel-Rahman Shaheen, the Health Ministry's official spokesman. Such is the cyclical nature of the virus that Egypt faced a second outbreak last November, restricted almost exclusively to domestically-reared fowl. An estimated 5.5 million families continue to rear poultry at home. "Poultry farms in Egypt are safe. All their birds have been vaccinated against the H5N1 virus," says Emad Eissa, official spokesman of the minister of agriculture and land reclamation. The challenge now, confirms Hassan El-Bushra, the WHO's regional advisor, is to tackle the spread of the virus between domestically- reared birds, hence the draconian measures against the transport of live poultry. Egypt now ranks fifth in the world in terms of infection rates. Restructuring the poultry industry, which employs one and a half million people, and in which LE17 billion has been invested, is now a matter of urgency. The Supreme National Committee to Combat Bird Flu (SNCCBF) convened a few days ago, says Eissa, to review the situation. Egypt has been provided with serums to vaccinate 15 million birds by international agencies and "an all out campaign to inoculate household poultry in order to control the disease and to protect citizens" is being considered. LE 120 million has already been allocated to purchase extra serums which will be distributed among governorates in time for birds to be revaccinated. To ensure poultry remains resistant to the virus, birds must be inoculated twice a year. The French government has promised Egypt 20 million sterilised masks to be distributed to hospitals in order to protect people against the virus. "Masks must be worn by any patient infected with the virus and all those who come into contact with the patient," says Shaheen. "Masks, which can be used for up to one week, will be made available to the public at minimal cost though existing stockpiles will have to be supplemented in the event of a pandemic." While only 22 cases out of a total 2380 birds recently tested returned positive results for the H5N1 strain, outbreaks of the virus have already been reported in 270 locations. Thirteen people have died of Avian Flu in Egypt, while a further eight infected with the virus made full recoveries. The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation now plans to establish 10 additional slaughterhouses to meet the increase in demand once the marketing of live birds becomes illegal. Frozen poultry remains safe. In a press conference last week Egyptian Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly stressed the importance of international coordination in the face of a bird flu pandemic. The bulk of funds earmarked to combat the disease so far have been channeled to Asia, a mistaken policy, said El-Gabaly, when Africa is facing the same problems.
