A delegation of the French World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) is visiting pig barns in Giza Governorate today to investigate into the culling of pigs after an outbreak of swine flu in Egypt. The delegation is being accompanied by Dr. Hamed Samaha and Dr. Hassan Eidarous, Chairman and former Chairman respectively of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, and Dr. Hassan Shafeek, Chairman of the Central Department for Public Health and Slaughterhouses.
Dr. Sayed Gad El-Mouli, Director of Veterinary Medicine in Giza, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the delegation was due to meet in the morning with the General Authority for Veterinary Services after Dr. Samaha had requested to prepare a report on and photos of the barns in Ard el-Liwa, in order to submit them to the delegation. At the last moment, though, the delegation decided to visit the barns to inspect the situation on the ground. Mr. El-Mouli pointed out that the delegation requested to visit the Governorate of Giza and then Cairo to inspect pig barns. It then asked to visit Cairo, while it decided not to visit the barns in El-Baraguil and el-Moutamadiya due to the short time at its disposal. He added that the delegation came to Egypt to investigate the causes of the cull of pigs, an action for which Cairo has already been widely criticized by the OIE. He will explain that the pigs were culled because their barns were a source of high pollution for the population, as they were located within residential areas. He will also say that solution was the best one, as allocating new barns for pigs outside residential areas will require a long time and it was not possible to wait all that time due to the spread of swine flu.
