Posted on 03/18/2006 10:33:06 AM PST by Termite_Commander
CAIRO, March 18 (Reuters) - An Egyptian woman has died of bird flu, the country's first human victim of the virus, Egypt's health ministry said on Saturday.
It said a 30-year-old woman from Qaloubiyah province, about 40 kms (25 miles) north of Cairo, was taken ill on Wednesday.
"They (doctors) took samples for analysis at the ministry of health laboratories ... They confirmed she was infected with bird flu. She died on Friday morning," a health ministry statement said, adding the woman had been given Tamiflu, a drug used to treat suspected cases of bird flu.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that Egypt had reported its first human case of bird flu.
"It was confirmed last night and reported officially this morning," said Dr Hassan al-Bushra, WHO's regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance.
He said the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu had been found in a blood sample taken from the woman, and that other samples were being tested for confirmation.
The woman had earlier reported the death of chickens she reared at her home, Bushra said, adding initial reports seemed to indicate that she had then killed other chickens herself for consumption.
She was later admitted to hospital with a fever and shortness of breath.
"People think that they can kill and slaughter the chickens and eat them. Health education is the issue," Bushra said.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain has been found in birds in 18 of the country's 26 governorates.
Telephone hotlines set up after the disease was initially discovered last month in Egypt, the world's most populous Arab state, were jammed by worried Egyptians after farmers reportedly threw slaughtered poultry onto the streets and into the Nile river.
Bird flu has spread across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia and killed at least 98 people worldwide since 2003.
Although hard to catch, people can contract bird flu after coming into contact with infected birds. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily between humans, triggering a pandemic in which millions could die.
Previous Egyptian government statements had said the virus was being contained after it was first reported in February.
Egyptian farmers say the poultry market -- worth about 17 billion Egyptian pounds ($3 billion dollars) and supporting up to 3 million people -- has been devastated. (Additional reporting by Abdel Latif Wahba)
that's not going to help you at all. You are supposed to have canned tuna and powdered milk, and it has to be under your bed!! I'm not sure why, but it's no good if it's not stored under your bed.
Don't eat SICK birds. They could have the disease.
Too much class for me. I like lime kool-aid with strips of baloney floating in it, for cocktail hour.
See my post #23, for cocktail hour.
If I were to be holding a spoon, I would place it into position to gage me!
Well yeah but I was wondering if they didn't want them raising any. That's where I'm concerned we are heading. Regulations will get so tight that only large companies will be able to raise beef, chickens etc. Maybe even gardens.
I'm not sure it's size that makes the difference.
Large companies can easily look the other way on disease, slaughter them and sell them to food stores. I know for a fact that a local foodstore in New Jersey, repackages hambuger AFTER it the expiration date and sold it as "fresh" and a new expiration date. They were eventually nailed on that but this went on despite "regualtions" for a long time - more than a year. As always there are some people that don't care and their only interest is in the $$$.
IF the disease progresses from human to human, THEN that is where the pandemic happens. Till then you have to be concerned about where you purchase your meat and hope it is not diseased.
This was a fairly large food store chain - Shop Rite in New Jersey.
I understand but our government is known for over-reacting. I can see them wanting control and knowing where all the birds are. It's already started with having to register your animals.
I heard last night that Israel has began slaughtering "tens of thousands of turkeys" but that was all I caught. I*m assuming that it*s made it to Israel now too. Has anyone heard about it being in Israel?
I just went to Mc Donalds and got a S#$tload of Cheeseburgers !!!
Yes, it's probably there. There were thousands of birds that died, thousands more were culled, and there were ten people who were being checked for H5N1 infection. The first 4 have had their preliminary tests come back negative.
The other six are really just being checked as a precautionary measure, and probably don't have the virus. We haven't seen what results there are from them though.
The other six are really just being checked as a precautionary measure, and probably don't have the virus. We haven't seen what results there are from them though.
Thanks! I just heard about it on the Albuquerque news at 5:00 pm. They are definitely slaughtering tens of thousands of turkeys. I've already bought a lot of chickens for my freezer, and I'm going to buy a few turkeys now too. I've purchased some dehydrated eggs, since so much food needs eggs to cook/bake.
What I don't understand is why these big farms don't slaughter and sell their birds before it hits their country. It seems to me like that would be the intelligent thing to do. Once it hits, no one can eat the meat. Even if they had to give it away to the citizens of their country so they could freeze it.
Thanks for the article.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.