Scott McPherson's Web Presence

The news coming out of Egypt today is that of a 25-year-old young woman, stricken with H5N1 avian flu.  What is interesting is the location and time of year.  The young woman lives in Damietta, a bustling port city in the Nile delta, and smack dab on the Mediterranean Sea.

The woman felt a surge of fever Friday and was rushed to hospital.  She was immediately given Tamiflu and is improving.  This is a testament to the active surveillance the Egyptian government has put in place.  It is an equal testament to the U.S. Naval research unit NAMRU-3, which is a recognized WHO world-class influenza typing lab and has never closed since opening over five decades ago. 

I digress here for a reason.  Imagine a United States military lab in Cairo that was not closed, even during the 6-Day War of 1967 or the Yom Kippur War of 1973!  NAMRU-3 is an amazing lab, where bird flu samples are tested and certified to the WHO.  It is a testament to the abilities of the United States Navy and the government at large, and is also a testament to the Egyptian government's recognition of its role in world health and world peace.

Back to the story:  The following is from the Website http://www.touregypt.net/damiettatop.htm , with some edits by me:

The Nile river divides Damietta, which is the Capital of the Egyptian Governorate by the same name ...Mostly Damietta is an industrial center known for its furniture, leathers, textile and sweets industries in addition to dairy products and rice mills. and for its agricultural heritage.  It is also a fishing industry town, with one of the largest fleets on the Mediterranean which accounts for fully half of the fishing boats of Egypt. Finally, it is well known for the port.

Today, Damietta is becoming more and more of a retreat for the people of Cairo who wish to escape the tourist activity of Alexandria and other North coast cities.

Damietta has experienced bird flu before, but human cases tested negative  and the city/governate was declared bird flu-free in the fall of 2006.  Egyptian authorities were not expecting H5N1 to show up at all during the summer months, which makes this case all the more interesting.  H5N1 shows us yeat again that it is one tough hombre; can surface even in hundred degree temperatures; can infect humans by the most bizarre of circumstances; and is defiant of government restrictions.

The Australian newspaper the Daily Telegraph reports: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22118153-5012771,00.html

The infection was a rare human case in Egypt's sweltering summer months.

Egyptian officials had forecast the virus would hide away during the summer following a pattern set in 2006 when human bird flu cases disappeared between May and October.

While bird flu did diminish in Egypt as the weather warmed, human cases have continued to occur sporadically.

Damietta's strategic location, on the Mediterranean, also shows us that the region should brace for pending bad news this fall.  H5N1 continues to confound, to spread, and to smoulder and reappear in unlikely times and in unlikely places. 

www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/22/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Bird-Flu.php

www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26883