Egypt draws emergency plan against possible bird flu outbreak

An Egyptian official said on Monday that Egypt has drawn a national emergency plan to deal with possible bird flu outbreak.

"We have worked out a national emergency plan and the government is ready for any emergencies," Undersecretary of Ministry of Health Nasr El-Sayyed told Egyptian TV.

"The precautionary measures taken by the government have been effective," he said, adding "there has been no report of the H5N1 bird flu infection in Egypt up to now."

The official also said the Health Ministry has kept a close eye on migrant birds and poultry as well as people who are in direct contact with birds.

Egypt held a seminar on Sunday under the auspices of Minister of Health Mohammad Awad Tag Eddin to highlight information about the bird flu and discuss how best to fight the disease.

On Friday, Kuwait reported a case of the virulent H5N1 strain of the bird flu, the first in the Middle East region.

The H5N1 strain has killed over 60 people worldwide since its outbreak in Asia in 2003.

Experts fear the H5N1 strain, which jumps from birds to people, could mutate and spawn a human flu pandemic that might kill millions.

Source: Xinhua