katie in cairo, egypt

No More Chicken Schwarma...

Over the past month, Egyptians, along with the rest of the world, have been panicking over the relatively new H5N1 Bird Flu epidemic. The first sick birds were spotted in Egypt about a month ago, and immediately, the government sent out an order for all birds kept in private houses to be slaughtered at once. And if you've ever strolled down an Egyptian street, even an urban Cairene one, you realize how many people and birds that applies to. It's quite common for a family or a small store to keep a few live birds in cages available for themselves or other consumers. In fact, immediately after the demand for slaughter was given, widespread confusion, disorder, and rumors broke out. There was even one story for a while that the Nile was dangerously infected, because "ignorant" people in the countryside had tried to dispose of their dead poultry by throwing them in the river...but thankfully this hasn't happened (or at least we don't know about it). Another item of great debate has been whether the government will reimburse farmers and shop owners for their lost birds. Supposedly there was some sort of acknowledgement or promise given???

Anyhow, things have taken a turn for the worst. Yesterday, the first human bird flu case and consequent death was reported in Egypt, and today it is reported that a man was just released from a hospital after being treated for the disease with the Tamiflu drug. Though Egypt has attempted to dispose of its farm poultry, it has not gone to such great extents of ensuring safety as in other European countries that are preparing for the worst. But what's really scary, is that if it's going to get bad here, it will only be worse for the rest of Africa, namely sub-Saharan countries.

Though the lost birds may hurt some of the sellers in the short run, the fact that such a wide panic has resulted from the bird flu incidence in Egypt is probably a positive thing. It's hard to find a restaurant these days that will give you chicken (however, when I was at a cafe last weekend having lunch and was refused the chicken sandwich, the waiter agreed to bring out a turkey club instead--???), and it looks like it won't be on the market anytime soon.

posted by Katie Warren @ 8:45 PM