Egypt monitors migrant birds for deadly avian flu strain

[sharon sanders]

Egypt monitors migrant birds for deadly avian flu strain


DUBAI, 15 February 2009 (IRIN) - Egypt has begun implementing its first programme to monitor the movement of migrant birds in the country in a bid to discover if they are able to transmit the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu subtype or not, media reports said.

The 10-day initiative uses remote sensing techniques and satellite tracking of migrant birds. The government programme - which has been carried out before in China, Nigeria and India - is being undertaken in cooperation with the US Geological Survey, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the US Medical Research Unit.

Meanwhile, Egypt's health ministry said last week that a boy had contracted the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu. He was the second such case in Egypt within a week, bringing the total number of human infections in the country to 56 since 2006.


http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82933

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Egypt monitors migrant birds for deadly avian flu strain

Egyptian Human Cases thread here:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=208903#post208903


Egyptian Poultry/Animal Cases thread here:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64332

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Egypt monitors migrant birds for deadly avian flu strain

Egypt applies the first program of its kind to address the avian influenza

Program has the support of international Mwsssat

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) - Egypt started to apply the first program of its kind on its territory, aims to control the movement of migratory birds in the country, to find out if they are able to transfer "Bird flu" of the deadly H5N1 smooth, which claimed the lives of Egyptians in the past 22 years.

The program, which will continue for ten days to apply to the use of advanced technology for remote sensing, and monitoring and follow-up via satellite to monitor the movements of birds.

Already used this program for the same goal in China, India and Nigeria, which is implemented in Egypt in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, the United Nations Food and Agriculture, "FAO" The American Medical Research Unit.

The announcement of the launching of this program a week after the announcement by the Ministry of Health in Egypt, it is suspected injured boy from bird flu, bringing the number of people infected in Egypt since 2006 to 56 people, according to News Network of the United Nations humanitarian "Irene."

Egypt is the third most affected country in the world after Indonesia and Vietnam, have included the majority of rural women's deaths raise chickens in their homes.

Has already in the infectious diseases unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said: "With the bird flu found in a number of countries, but Egypt is one of the areas where the disease, to the extent that a greater risk than anywhere else."

The disease is transmitted to humans through the inhalation of blood or feathers or powdered feces of poultry, and therefore, those who raise birds in Egypt, who are usually women and children, they become more susceptible to the disease.

Is noteworthy that the bird flu began to spread in poultry in several Asian countries in 2003, and no virus could mutate after the transition and to allow it to pass directly between humans.

It will be recalled that when the disease appeared for the first time in Egypt, in February 2006, authorities have culled around 25 million birds within weeks, resulting in the destruction of the poultry sector and particularly in family farms.

http://arabic.cnn.com/2009/scitech/2/15/egypt.migrantbirds/index.html