Egypt to cull all pigs to prevent swine flu infection
29/04/2009 19:11 CAIRO, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - The Egyptian government resolved on Wednesday to cull all pigs in the country amid fears of a possible swine flu outbreak, Health Minister Hatem El-Gabali told journalists.
"A decision has been taken to immediately start slaughtering all pigs in Egypt," the minister said.
According to the ministry's information, the country has a pig population of about 300,000 animals. Other sources say about 350,000-400,000 pigs are kept at the country's farms, most of them near the densely populated areas of Cairo and Giza.
The country's parliament earlier demanded that all pigs in the country be culled and allocated about $100 million to compensate and create jobs for farmers. The consumption of pork is strictly prohibited in Islam, the state religion in Egypt, where around 90% of the population is Muslim.
Though no swine flu cases have been registered in the country, the Egyptian authorities have tightened sanitary controls at airports, especially for passengers arriving from disease-hit countries.
A total of 105 human swine flu cases have been confirmed worldwide, more than a half of them (64 cases) in the United States, where one person has died. Mexico, thought to be the source of the outbreak, has reported only 26 officially confirmed cases and seven deaths.
At least 13 human swine influenza infections have been registered in Europe - five in Britain, three in Germany, four in Spain and one in Austria. Three people have been diagnosed with swine flu in New Zealand.
The World Health Organization has raised the level of swine flu pandemic alert from phase 3 to 4, implying a significant risk increase, two steps short of a full pandemic.
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