VZCZCXRO9191
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHHM RUEHKUK RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0778 0781449
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191449Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4087
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 000778 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, AIAG FOR WINN AND LANGE, ISN FOR BODNAR 
AND RAO 
AMMAN FOR WHITTLESEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU KSTH TBIO ECON PREL EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT AVIAN FLU UPDATE:  26TH HUMAN CASE 
CONFIRMED, NINE OUTBREAKS ON COMMERCIAL FARMS REPORTED 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (U)  Ministry of Health and Population officials (MOHP) 
confirmed the 26th case of highly pathogenic H5N1 in a 
two-year old boy on March 19, and the 25th case on March 14 
in a ten-year old girl, both from the Aswan governorate. 
Their families raise backyard poultry.  Thirteen of the 
twenty-six confirmed human cases since March 2006 have died. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) officials expressed 
concern over nine confirmed H5N1 outbreaks in the commercial 
poultry sector since February 2007.  The government official 
responsible for avian influenza diagnostics told econoff on 
March 18 that "very poor biosecurity" standards on the nine 
farms led to recent H5N1 outbreaks.  "If we are going to 
continue a mass vaccination program, we must improve the 
standards on commercial farms." 
 
¶3. (SBU)   One of these commercial farmers may be facing 
prosecution for knowingly selling infected birds to backyard 
farmers and directly causing another human case, according to 
MOA officials.  The parents of human case number 23, a 
four-year old from Daqahliya, who recovered and was released 
from the hospital on March 5, reportedly unwittingly 
purchased sick birds from a farm with confirmed outbreaks. 
Following the initial appearance of H5N1 in February 2006, 
when more than 800 outbreaks were reported on commercial 
farms, Egyptian officials pursued a mass vaccination 
campaign.  Though generally successful in eliminating the 
symptoms of the disease on commercial farms, vaccinated 
poultry continues to carry the virus. 
 
¶4. (U)  In an effort to stem cases in the backyard sector, 
where the majority of recent outbreaks have occurred, MOA 
officials issued a decree mandating vaccination of day-old 
chicks in traditional hatcheries, calling for compulsory 
registration of poultry farms countrywide, and instituting a 
mapping system for infected sites.  The MOHP announced on 
March 11 the implementation of UNICEF-funded project to train 
10,000 female volunteers in rural areas to raise awareness on 
disease prevention. 
RICCIARDONE