Human bird-flu deaths prevalent among breeders, says health ministry

Human deaths caused by the potentially pathogenic avian virus H5N1 have resulted mostly from exposure to infected fowl kept domestically, according to a health ministry statement issued following a meeting of the Supreme National Committee to Combat Bird Flu. “There were 11 cases that resulted from domestic breeding,” read the statement. “Only two cases have been the result of labour in poultry farms.” The committee, which met on 6 May under the auspices of Minister of Environment Maged George, urged all those exposed to potentially infected poultry to “take the necessary precautions” when dealing with fowl. However, the government does not intend to extend an urban ban on domestic breeding – introduced soon after the first reports of poultry infections – to rural areas, according to health ministry media official Sayyid al-Abbasi. “It remains an impracticable measure, in that the livelihoods of many rural Egyptians depend on domestic breeding,” he said. Avian flu was first reported among birds in mid-February, while the first human death occurred a month later. Out of 13 reported human cases, a total of five have died, the ministry statement noted. Most recently, a 27-year-old woman from Menoufiya province, 80 km north of Cairo, died on 4 May after receiving unsuccessful treatment at a Cairo hospital. According to the ministry, the woman – who was infected following close contact with diseased birds – reported her case to the authorities too late for treatment to be effective. “She did not undergo medical checks following exposure to infected birds until the disease had entered its late stages,” the health ministry statement read. Nevertheless, health authorities say that measures enacted by the national committee were bearing fruit. “The situation is under control, as far as it can be, given the nature of the disease,” said al-Abbasi. According to the ministry, the number of reports of infected poultry appears to be on the wane. “Reports from various governorates clearly indicate that the number of new infections among poultry is decreasing,” read the statement. At present, infections among poultry have been recorded in 20 of Egypt’s 26 governorates. When an infection is found, all poultry within a 1km radius is culled, according to health ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shahine.