Government launches anti-bird flu training programme, reports 12th case

The government launched a training programme this week to prepare professionals and volunteers involved in combating the spread of the potentially pathogenic H5N1 avian virus. “Faced with a deepening crisis, the government has launched a new programme to train personnel dealing with bird flu,” said health ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shahine. “Those partaking in the training will be instructed on culling techniques, what special clothing to wear during mass fowl culling and how to raise awareness in the most affected areas.” Some 3,200 volunteers and government workers in four of the most affected provinces will take part in training, Shahine said. “Among those being trained are veterinarians, policemen and agriculture ministry workers,” he said, adding that additional training sessions in other areas would follow. The programme is intended to prevent further human and poultry infections after some critics blamed previous cases on a lack of adequate implementation of prevention measures. “While our plans and recommendations were excellent from the very start of the crisis, there was, in some areas, a lack of coordination and unevenness in implementation,” Shahine said. He cited cases of farmers carrying out mass poultry culling without wearing the necessary protective clothing. “We’re going to make sure none of that happens anymore.” Meanwhile, health authorities also reported the appearance of a 12th human case of the flu. An 18-year-old woman from Menoufiya province, 80km north of Cairo, was taken ill at a local hospital on 10 April and transported to a Cairo hospital the next day. Her condition is stable, according to the health ministry. “She contracted the virus through close contact with infected birds kept in her home,” Shahine said. Infected fowl have so far been found in 19 of Egypt’s 26 governorates since bird flu was first reported in mid-March. Since then, three human deaths from the virus have been confirmed by local health authorities. Despite the fact that the majority of cases among birds were detected in farms across the country, nine of the 12 human cases were the result of contact with domestically kept birds, Shahine said. The authorities, therefore, recognise the need for heightened awareness. “As well as the training programme, the health ministry is working in close cooperation with the information ministry to launch new, stronger campaigns targeting the rural communities that have been most affected,” Shahine said. Despite a ban on domestic poultry breeding in urban areas, there are no such restrictions in the countryside. “It appears impractical to impose such a ban in areas where people rely far more heavily on domestic breeding than in the cities,” Shahine said. “A ban would lead many to conceal their birds, heightening the danger rather than quelling it.” “Instead, we are working to help them increase their awareness on how to deal with birds,” Shahine added, “to prevent the emergence of new cases.”