STATE OF EMERGENCY IN EGYPT’S SOUTHWEST PROVINCE AFTER 2 BIRD FLU HOTSPOTS DETECTED

Tue 22 December 2020:

Egypt’s veterinary directorate in El-Wadi El-Dedid has declared a state of emergency after finding two bird flu hotspots.

The hotspots are on poultry farms in Dakhla Oasis Governorate, one in Ezab Al-Qasr and one in Oweina village.

It is the H9 strain, known to infect people, according to the state-run Al-Ahram.

Nagy Awad, head of the veterinary agency in the southwestern province of al-Wadi al-Gedid, said Sunday that avian influenza was detected in two poultry farms in the villages of Ezab Al-Qasr and Oweina in the Dakhla Oasis, located over 750 kilometers (470 miles) from the capital, Cairo.

He said the infected birds were culled and authorities have carried out medical examinations of people who were in contact with them. The virus, which is mainly spread through contact with infected animals, can cause severe illness or death in humans.

The infected birds have been killed and the people in contact with them examined.

In 2006 there was an outbreak of bird flu in Egypt which led to poultry exports being suspended. From March to August of the following year, 15 people died from bird flu.

The outbreak comes just a few months after Egypt’s agricultural ministry resumed poultry exports after what became a 14-year halt following the World Organisation for Animal Health’s listing of Egypt as one of the countries free of bird flu.

Egypt was considered one of the worst affected countries by bird flu, along with Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Thailand.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu spread in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Millions of chickens and ducks were slaughtered.

Egypt is at high risk because many of its poultry farms are in residential areas. Many Egyptians also raise pigeons and chickens at home to supplement their income. Even in dense urban areas, birds are kept on rooftops, balconies and courtyards.

Poultry farmers often hold back from reporting bird flu outbreaks because it is their livelihood and it is not guaranteed that they will be compensated.

Many people have birds at home as a way of making money but do not tell health officials for fear they will be sanctioned.