Bird flu detected on nine Egypt farms despite vaccinations

[sharon sanders]

Bird flu detected on nine Egypt farms despite vaccinations <!-- END HEADLINE -->
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Bird flu has been detected on nine farms across Egypt where the poultry had been vaccinated against the virus, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday.
Egypt, where the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus first appeared among poultry more than a year ago, is one of the world's worst affected countries despite a prevention campaign by the authorities.
Between the start of January and mid-March, cases of vaccinated poultry which still contracted the virus have been found at nine farms, the official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
He said out of 41,684 birds raised at the farms, almost 10,000 had died, amounting to a death toll of close to 25 percent. The method of vaccination could be faulty, the official acknowledged.
An expert in the fight against bird flu said a fault in the refrigeration of the vaccine could be the problem.
A UN Food and Agriculture Organisation official in Egypt said the situation was not alarming. "No vaccine is 100 percent effective," he said, asking not to be named.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070314/hl_afp/healthfluegypt

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Bird flu detected on nine Egypt farms despite vaccinations

Bird flu detected in vaccinated Egypt flocks - source
Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:19 PM IST



By Cynthia Johnston
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has detected bird flu in chickens and ducks from reportedly vaccinated flocks in a sign that inoculation procedures in the most populous Arab country may be lacking, an animal health official said on Tuesday.
The official, who closely follows bird flu in Egypt, said chickens and ducks from vaccinated household flocks and on poultry farms had tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus this year in 12 locations, and eight of the infections were detected this month.
"We have outbreaks in vaccinated chickens in many places," the official told Reuters, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press. "This puts a question mark on vaccination procedures ... It is dangerous."
He said all but one of the vaccinated flocks where infections occurred were in the hard-hit Nile Delta, where most of the country's 24 human cases have been concentrated. The country has the largest number of human cases outside of Asia.
Since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry a year ago, 13 Egyptians have died of the disease, and all but two human infections have been attributed to contact with sick or dead household birds.
Egyptian authorities have said they had virtually eliminated the disease from poultry farms and hatcheries, where birds are routinely vaccinated.
An agriculture ministry avian specialist, Saber Abdel Aziz Galal, confirmed that bird flu had been detected in two Nile Delta flocks that were reportedly vaccinated, but said they had occurred in January. He was unaware of other cases.
Ahmed Chikhaoui, the Food and Agriculture Organisation representative in Cairo, said he was unaware of detected cases in vaccinated flocks.

VACCINATION PROCEDURES
Officials said that the problem was likely due to improper vaccination procedures, and it was possible that the farms where infections occurred had not followed health ministry guidelines.
"The immunisations did not occur under veterinary supervision," the health ministry's Galal said, adding that farms may have also brought in flocks without first consulting proper authorities.
"Last year there were around 890 farms affected. This year it's two. So naturally there's a big difference," he said. "The whole problem now is with household poultry."
The animal health official said some farms may be vaccinating chicks at over five days old, which could reduce the efficacy of the vaccine. He said inoculations should be done when the chicks are a day old.
Health experts fear the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from human to human, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions. The virus has killed 168 people worldwide since 2003, mostly in Asia.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/Ne...231052Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-290826-1.xml

 

[Theresa42]

Re: Bird flu detected on nine Egypt farms despite vaccinations

You know, last year anyway (and, I think, still this year) Egypt has been getting its bird flu vaccines from China...

Here to stay?
Experts warn it could take years to rid Egypt of the threat posed by avian flu, reports Reem Leila

6 - 12 April 2006

(...)

Meanwhile, according to Al-Senousy, the government has announced that it has imported large quantities of H5N1 vaccines from China in an attempt to protect remaining flocks from the virus.

"The problem is this is the wrong vaccine. The government should have imported the European-produced H5N2 or H5N9 vaccines which have been used by all European countries infected by the virus and by Israel, successfully eliminating the virus within one week," says Al-Senousy. Al-Senousy, who in a surprise move was dismissed from the SNCCBF, had joined other experts in advising health and agriculture officials on the importance of importing the European vaccines, which are cheaper than the Chinese-produced H5N1.

"Inexplicably," he says, :they insisted on the less advanced vaccine though why the decision was taken to import the H5N1 vaccine when poultry is already infected with it is beyond me."

(...)

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/789/eg3.htm

 

[Theresa42]

Re: Bird flu detected on nine Egypt farms despite vaccinations

Wrong vaccine spread virus
A parliamentary report criticises official reactions to the bird flu crisis, reports Reem Leila

11 - 17 May 2006

(...)

According to a report prepared by the ministries of agriculture and health, in conjunction with the parliamentary Agriculture Committee....

(...)

The report highlights the disastrous decision to import Chinese-made H5N1 vaccine rather than the cheaper European H5N2 and H5N9 vaccines. The latter two, used in Europe and Israel, eliminated the virus within a matter of days. Yet, as Saad notes, the Supreme National Committee to Combat Bird Flu (SNCCBF) recommended the import of the H5N1 vaccine. Costing $6 per bottle, it was sold on to poultry breeders for LE425. Instead of immunising poultry the vaccine spread the virus. Every farm where birds were vaccinated with the H5N1 vaccine has been infected with the deadly avian flu virus.

The SNCCBF has now recommended the import of the H5N2 vaccine. "Within a few days it will be in Egypt in sufficient quantities to totally eradicate the virus," says Saad.

The report has also raised the issue of importing the H5N1 vaccine for $6 per bottle and selling it for LE425 to poultry breeders, Saad confirmed that the SNCCBF is a technical committee which is concerned with human health and poultry industry only.

The report stated that fowls which have been vaccinated with H5N1 in all of poultry farms have been infected with the deadly avian flu virus instead of being immunised against it. Saad illustrated that it requires a vaccinated bird in order to build strong immunity against the disease a period that ranges three to four weeks, during this period the bird's immunity is still weak and can contract the disease. "The SNCCBF noticed that immunised birds have contracted the disease during this period. Therefore it was normal for the birds to be dead," he added.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/794/eg7.htm

 

[Theresa42]

Re: Bird flu detected on nine Egypt farms despite vaccinations

Google-translated from Arabic:

Official Agriculture: poultry vaccination does not prevent avian influenza infected .. The current weather helps the spread of the virus

Written by Metwalli Salem
March 15, 2007

Dr. Sabir Abdul Aziz, director-general of epidemics and diseases, the Ministry of Agriculture, poultry, the vaccination of birds against avian influenza virus does not prevent infection, but it reduces mortality rate among poultry and limiting result of the H5N1 rate of one to ten thousand.

He told "Almasry Alyoum" the immunization leads to contain the disease and prevent its spread from one region to another and easy to control.

He pointed out that the emergence of infection in poultry farms was imperative in the past month was due to a lack of vital safety and veterinary procedures necessary to prevent the arrival of the virus to them.

Aziz said that the situation is currently under control in poultry farms, where tighten preventive measures and control are also available by veterinary care.

The director general warned of epidemics weather in Egypt at present, pointing out that it helps to spread of the virus among birds because it is rural and dust-laden wind, which would move from one place to another.

He added : It was the completion of the vaccination of 45 million birds and two million domestic Nestling Omar on Palmfarrakat municipality.

He pointed out that he is scheduled to be completed immunized 20 million Omar Nestling on the municipal Palmfarrakat during the month from now.

http://12.47.45.221/article.aspx?ArticleID=51318&r=t