Swine (pig) Flu and Egypt

In case you missed this article in Egypt Daily News, it is repeated below. Everyone hopes the spread is contained world wide, but signs are not looking good. I wonder the ramifications in Egypt, of a Islam follower contracting Swine Flu. I have also included an article from UK Guardian below on treatment, as this Flu does respond to antivirals as Tamiflu and Relenza

Environment ministry demands relocation of pig farms

By Yasmine Saleh
First Published: April 27, 2009

AP Photo/Nasser Nouri An Egyptian farmer feeds his pigs at a private farm in Cairo, Egypt, Monday April 27. Egyptian health authorities are examining about 350,000 pigs being raised in Cairo and other provinces for swine flu.

CAIRO: Four days after the eruption of swine flu in Mexico, the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs ordered the swift transfer of all pig farms far from residential areas in Egypt.

In an official media statement released by the ministry on Sunday, all pig farmers are to be relocated to the 238-acre in 15 May city dedicated to raising pigs.

The new location is also to be used to recycle garbage, according to Presidential decree No. 338 for 2008.

The ministry, according to the press, release chose this location because it is the furthest and safest area to be used to raise pigs and recycle waste. The location was also chosen with the approval of Ministries of Health, Housing, Local Development and Agriculture.

The ministry has further listed nine areas where pigs are currently being raised in Egypt.

Among the nine locations, five are in Cairo: Ezbet Al-Nakhl, along the Cairo-Ismailia road; Mansheyet Nasser off the Autostrad; Batn El-Ba’ara in Old Cairo; Katameya, at the end of Katameya district and Al-Moatamadeya in Giza off the Sixth of October Corridor high way.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published on Sunday, the US reported 20 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine flu, also known as pig flu, eight in New York, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio.

Until press time, no deaths had been reported in the US cases.

On Sunday, Mexico reported 18 new laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu after it was reported on Saturday that some 81 people died there after being infected with the virus.

The WHO and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) are sending medical experts to Mexico to support the health authorities. However, the WHO still did not recommend any travel or trade restrictions, according to its updated media release on Sunday.

On the other hand, the British Health Minister told the BBC news channel that England is safe from the swine flu. According to the minister, Britain has enough anti-viral drugs to treat the disease that it has also sent much of it to Mexico and the US.

Swine flu can be transmitted to humans who have direct contact with pigs.

Similar to avian flu, swine flu symptoms are like normal influenza. It is airborne and thus could spread among humans.

Q&A: swine flu treatment

Swine flu virus can be treated with antivirals Tamiflu and Relenza

• Rachel Williams
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 27 April 2009 14.04 BST
• Article history

Is treatment available and does it work?

Testing has shown that the human swine influenza H1N1 can be treated with the antivirals oseltamavir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), according to the UK's Health Protection Agency. The health secretary, Alan Johnson, said yesterday that Tamiflu had proved effective on patients in Mexico. Demand has historically been greatest for Tamiflu, which comes in tablet form, while Relenza must be inhaled.

What do antiviral treatments do?

Drugs relieve some of the symptoms, reduce the potential for serious complications like pneumonia and cut the length of the illness by around a day. Crucially, they also reduce transmission of the virus from person to person. The government estimates that up to 750,000 people could die in the UK during a pandemic without antivirals.

How much of these drugs do we have?

The NHS signed contracts earlier this year with pharmaceutical companies Roche, which makes Tamiflu, and GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Relenza, to double its store of antiviral drugs, bringing our total capacity to 33.5 million treatment courses.

Is that enough?

The government's store would cover 50% of the population – everyone predicted to fall ill in the event of a pandemic. It says the UK is already widely recognised as one of the best prepared countries in the world. Previous flu pandemics have infected between 25% and 35% of the population.

What about a vaccine?

Scientists are working on developing a vaccine against the new strain. But reporters at a European commission briefing in Luxembourg were told that although the industry was working as fast as possible and new measures meant it could be on the market much quicker than a normal vaccine, the process could still take up to half a year.

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