CAIRO: Over 100 cases of equine flu were discovered in Qena last week, This was the first time the virus is discovered in medical tests carried in areas outside Cairo, with many places reporting infected horses. In Qena, 100 cases were discovered in Qoos province and two in Qeft province. Veterinarian authorities are intensifying the precautionary measures in infected areas. Horse owners were given instructions on how to deal with the disease and medical committees are now visiting a number of governorates to undertake tests and collect samples from infected animals. "Equine flu has spread very fast in many governorates like Cairo, Alexandria, Helwan and Upper Egypt, Ibrahim El Bendary, head of protective medicine at the general association for veterinary services, told Daily News Egypt. "The spread of the disease is accelerated by the epidemic nature of the virus itself which can move fast and easily between animals, El Bendary added. However, El Bendary said that they didn't receive information about new cases since last week. The symptoms of the disease appeared in the defecattion of carriage horses and were immediately taken for tests. The disease reached its summit in the month of July in Cairo and Giza where some farms horses were all infected and they halted their business for a month. "We stopped horses from going in and out for three weeks. This has gravely affected our business. [Maintaining a horse] costs from LE 1,000 to LE 2,000 per week, Adam Wafi, owner of Prestigue Horses farm, told Daily News Egypt in July "We knew it was coming to Egypt after it left half of the horse population in Australia dead, so we took our precautions, Wafi had said. "Other stables were surprised and they had a serious problem. The majority of stables in Sakkara have temporarily stopped their renting businesses. Rushdi Mahmoud Hassan, general director of the veterinary department in Qena, said that medical care clinics were established at Qoos province and all animal farms were sanitized. He also said in an interview with MENA that all veterinary departments were ordered to monitor and report any infected cases they discover. According to El Bendary, serological tests are done to discover cases as early as possible. Committees from the association monitor places, where horses gather to report any infection. "We are preparing a guide booklet about the disease and how to deal with it and general instructions for horse owners. It will be issued soon, El Bendary said. Equine influenza (EI) is an acute, highly contagious, viral disease which can cause rapid outbreaks of respiratory diseases in horses and other equine species. There are two main types of EI: Equine-1 (H7N7) affects horses' heart muscles, while the second, Equine-2 (H3N8), is more severe. Humans do not get infected with equine influenza. However, humans can physically carry the virus on their skin, hair, clothing and shoes, and can therefore transfer the virus to other horses. Infected animals should be moved away from the rest of the herd, and have a number of workers dedicated to their care to prevent the exposure of new animals to the virus.
