March 21, 2006

Egypt copes with bird flu, and now FMD

As Egypt grapples with its second human case of bird flu, its cattle are falling to a sudden wave of foot-and-mouth disease.

The owner of a poultry farm, Abdel Moneim was the second reported human case of avian influenza in Egypt. The first case was a woman who died last week.

There have been outbreaks in 17 out of Egypt's 26 governorates, according to the health ministry.

Public health authorities have been on alert since the first case of the virus was reported in mid-February. Since then, over 10 million chickens and domestic birds have been culled nationwide, crippling the poultry industry.

A ban on live fowl imports and domestic transport of birds has also been enforced.

At the same time, reports of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle have increased rapidly. A new wave of the disease has struck Egyptian cattle with unusual strength, said veterinarians.

Although the disease is common among cattle, it is particularly virulent this time, with cattle from several governorates dying from the disease, said Sami Taha, member of the Egyptian Veterinarians' Syndicate.

FMD is a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus that mainly affects cattle and sheep. According to the European Commission for the Control of FMD, the disease has been repeatedly surfaced in Egypt over the past 50 years.