CAIRO: A 15-year-old girl was the ninth victim to die of the H5N1 avian flu virus in Egypt yesterday, following the death of her relative on Sunday. Her brother is still undergoing treatment in a Cairo hospital. The three from Gharbeya province had contracted the disease after slaughtering infected ducks. Many cases of avian flu in Egypt have not led to death. Hassan El-Bushra of the World Health Organization (WHO) explains that while there are a number of interrelated variables, such as health factors and dose of infection, the biggest determinant of death is time of treatment. He explains: Tamiflu is very strong if it is administered in the first 48 hours. After that it weakens. He says the problem is that the family denied for a week any contact with sick or dead poultry, as many others do. He says the victims could also harm the doctors and nurses with their denials. El-Bushra insists the Ministry of Health and WHO are not at fault. We have told them please don t touch infected birds.but still people do it. People do deny having dead or infected poultry because it is the main source of food for many low-income families. The government has overseen the culling of some 30 million birds over the past eight months, and has put into place tough restrictions on poultry keeping. So-called "backyard birds , which are chickens or ducks kept in small numbers in low-income homes for extra food or cash, have been outlawed. Last year to cope with the onslaught of the illness, the government established a special committee to combat bird flu. The birds on numerous poultry farms were executed on the grounds that they were infected. The poultry industry suffered major financial losses. A number of its professionals demonstrated, demanding compensation. The government, however, won t change the procedure it adopted last year, according statements in the local press. It will keep in mind that the situation might turn into a pandemic. Domestic poultry remains an issue. Most fatalities in Egypt were the result of direct contact between humans and domestic poultry. Dr. Al Sayyed Al Abbasy, director of the media center at the Ministry of Health, says that international regulations recommend slaughtering all birds within one kilometer of the infected animal(s). The question of compensation still remains unclear. While both Abbasy and El-Bushra blame farmers themselves for not listening to the message and clear instructions, El-Bushra says there will be no change in the strategy. The Ministry is renewing the message however on public radio and will continue giving free tests in the villages. El-Bushra says: If the ministry does its best, and everyone does their best and the rural person ignores the message, the whole thing will collapse. Eighteen Egyptians have contracted the disease since its detection in Egypt in February.
