# 1503
Three weeks after the last reported death from bird flu in that country, officials claim they are making headway in controlling outbreaks in poultry. They credit increased awareness among their citizens and an aggressive bird vaccination program.
Perhaps.
But I find a statement in this article curious. That since the beginning of January 2008 fewer suspected human cases of bird flu had been admitted to hospitals.
Fewer than what?
The first 3 weeks of December? The first 3 weeks of January 2007?
While it appears (again, based on government statements) that these hundreds of suspect cases admitted to hospitals over the past few weeks were suffering from seasonal flu, not bird flu, the numbers reported have been high.
In any event, here is the gist of the government statement, carried by the IRIN news agency.
EGYPT: Avian flu outbreak abating, says government
CAIRO, 21 January 2008 (IRIN) - Egypt’s Supreme Committee to Combat Bird Flu - a government body - said on 19 January that infection rates among poultry in farms and homes had dropped sharply since the second week of January.
It said this was largely due to a public awareness campaign and the intensification of vaccination initiatives.
Last week, Cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi said 60 percent of poultry reared domestically had been vaccinated and that the government was stepping up efforts, especially in rural areas, to complete vaccination of the remaining 40 percent of poultry.
Radi also said epidemiological surveillance had been completed in the governorates of Dahaklia, Behera, Giza, Fayyoum and Gharbiyah.
At the same time, Nasr El-Sayed, an adviser at the Ministry of Health, said that since the beginning of January 2008 fewer suspected human cases of bird flu had been admitted to hospitals.
However, Amany Nakhla, regional planning assistant for avian flu in the Cairo office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned against a slackening in the awareness phase. She said 15 new suspected human cases of bird flu from the Delta area had been under medical surveillance since 16 January.
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