Egypt: Two Cases of H5N1 Outbreaks Registered

The local authorities in rural Egypt announced that two outbreaks of bird flu had been detected in the southwest of the country, according to a report published by the Associated Press on Monday.

According to the Head of the Veterinary Medicine Directorate in the New Valley Governorate, Nagy Awad, bird flu was detected in two poultry farms in the villages of Ezab Al-Qasr and Oweina in the Dakhla Oasis, located over 750 km from the capital, Cairo.

Awad added that the affected birds had been executed, pointing out that the authorities had conducted medical examinations for the people who had contact with them, according to the AP report.

The bird flu strain spread in the early 2000s in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, resulting in the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks.

The World Health Organization said hundreds of people have contracted the virus and many have died.

Egypt suffered from a widespread outbreak of bird flu in 2006, which led to the suspension of all poultry exports.

The authorities had been pressing to resume the export movement, and earlier this year, the World Organization for Animal Health, an intergovernmental body, announced that Egypt was free of bird flu for the first time in 14 years.

Infections with H5N1 can cause diseases from mild conjunctivitis to pneumonia and even death, according to the World Health Organization.

The primary risk factor for infection with H5N1 viruses in humans appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead poultry or to contaminated environments such as live bird markets.

There is no data suggesting the possibility of transmitting the virus to humans through poultry meat or eggs prepared in an appropriate way.