The Supreme Committee to Combat Bird Flu, in its meeting on 16/1/2008 under Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, said bird flu rates among poultry in farms and backyard homes have dropped sharply due to increase of awareness among citizens and intensification of vaccination campaigns.

Spokesman of the Health Ministry, Dr Abdel Rahman Shahin, said Egypt has a modest infection rate compared to world countries.

He cited a World Health Organization's report, which put Egypt amongst the world countries with lowest bird flu infections.

He said 350 people have contracted the H5N1 virus worldwide and 217 have died of bird flu.

In Egypt, 43 caught the virus and 19 people died, he added.

The committee has finished the epidemiological surveillance in five governorates; Dakahlia, Behera, Giza, Fayyoum and Gharbiyah.

Advisor of Health Minister, Dr. Nasr El-Sayed, said that fever hospitals have received a big number of suspected cases during January 2008 due to spread of the seasonal human flu.

Dr. Mona Mehrez, Supervisor of the Central Laboratories of Poultry Monitoring said that 350 samples were checked and the veterinary campaigns have included 9 governorates. The number of participating committees reached 50 ones.

Results of inspection confirmed decrease of number of epicenters in the poultry farms where 11 ones were discovered during the second week of January as compared to 33 epicenters during the first week of the same month. The results reflect increase of awareness of citizens in addition to the intensification of campaigns to follow up the implementation of the decision prohibiting breeding poultry in homes.

Dr. Shahin said that the Health Ministry has 5.2 million doses of Tamiflu. He said that Egypt has the lowest bird flu mortality. Dr. Mona denied a rumor that the deadly bird flu could pass on to fish noting that the Health Ministry has imported 3 billion doses of bird vaccines.

19/1/2008