This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS CAIRO 001100 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR NEA, NEA/ELA, NEA/RA 
FOR OES, OES/IHA 
NSC STAFF FOR SINGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC SENV EAGR EAID EG KFLU
SUBJECT: EGYPT: AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 1007 
 
     ¶B. CAIRO 1006 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  H5N1 avian influenza has spread to twelve 
governorates in Egypt.  Poultry sales have virtually ceased 
since the February 17 GOE announcement (ref A) that H5N1 had 
been detected.  The GOE has instituted a number of measures 
to combat the outbreak, but it is unclear how effective they 
are.  Popular fear may prove the most effective avian 
influenza countermeasure.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Egyptian officials have told emboffs (but not yet 
announced publicly) that infected birds have been found in 
twelve governorates, up from the initial three reported 
February 17.  Ministry of Agriculture officials also told 
emboffs that three commercial flocks have been affected; 
10,000 birds have been culled at one of those farms.  No 
human cases have been detected.  Health Minister El Gabaly is 
quoted in the press that 200 people in contact with infected 
birds have tested negative for H5N1 and that the GOE has 
tested 5,000 people for H5N1 since October 2005, all of whom 
tested negative. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) It is difficult to assess the extent and 
effectiveness of GOE countermeasures.  Egyptian officials 
report that three kilometer quarantine areas are established 
around each suspected incident site and all birds within the 
quarantine areas are culled.  On February 19, the Minister of 
Agriculture issued a decree prohibiting for fifteen days the 
transport between governorates of all live birds without a 
permit.  The decree also prohibits transportation of poultry 
manure, feathers, and all poultry by-products.  Exempt are 
day-old chicks, eggs, and chilled/frozen poultry slaughtered 
at approved plants.  The decree also prohibits the sale of 
live birds in public markets and bans backyard and rooftop 
coops. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) By February 19, merchants who sell and slaughter 
live chickens had generally closed in compliance with the 
Agriculture Minister's decree; those that remained open had 
little business.  Poultry prices have plunged, while the 
prices of other protein sources (such as fish) have 
increased.  The price of live chicken had already fallen from 
LE 6.50 per kilo to LE 3.70 (exchange rate LE 5.75/dollar) 
just before the February 17 announcement.  The Egyptian 
Federation of Poultry Producers confirmed that, since the 
announcement, bird sales have virtually stopped. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The frequent appearance of government officials on 
television has not stopped rumors and misinformation.  Post 
denied a February 21 report in one of Cairo's more 
sensationalist newspapers that the U.S. Naval Medical 
Research Unit (NAMRU-3) informed the GOE of H5N1 in Egypt 
weeks ago but that the GOE suppressed the information.  (The 
text of the denial is posted on Embassy Cairo's web site.) 
Rumors, fueled by text messages, that Cairo's drinking water 
had been contaminated by farmers dumping chickens in the Nile 
spread throughout the city in minutes on the afternoon of 
February 21, overwhelming phone lines and prompting the 
Ministers of Information and Health to take to the airwaves 
to issue denials. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment.  Despite the importance of poultry as a 
source of protein in the Egyptian diet, popular fear of bird 
flu may prove the most potent countermeasure of all.  The 
rapid spread of the drinking water rumor and collapse of the 
poultry market indicate how apprehensive Egyptians are about 
the disease.  There are anecdotal reports that those trying 
to evade closure of backyard and rooftop coops are being 
pressured by neighbors to comply.  For the time being, those 
trying to keep birds may find that they are not worth the 
cost of feed.  End comment. 
 
RICCIARDONE