Avian flu
 

Any thoughts on how concerned we should be about the current avian flu outbreak in Egypt?

No concerns, unless you plan to handle poultry or visit places where they are kept.

Although I'm generally not a worry wart, I do have a special interest in this as I live in Cairo & have asthma. So I've paid particular attention to this.

Heimdall's comments are true today/ There are no none cases of bird flu transfering from birds to people in Egypt. However, the people who have caught it were people in the poultry industry or raised poultry in the homes.

His warning to keep away from handling poultry and from places where poultry is kept is correct. Tour guides will keep you away from these areas. I'm sure your hotel concierge will be able to do so, too.

But that doesn't mean that bird flu won't transfer to Egyptian people in the future.

So, my advice is to keep an eye on things. The US State Department sends out travel warnings for Egypt. Go to its website to enroll in the its mailing list. I got one yesterday re: bird flu.

Mind you, the State Dept. warnings are extremely conservative in their warnings.

Sunshine, you are right that it is important to keep an eye on things, but I see no need for anyone to change their travel plans at the moment. This reminds me of a few years ago when people cancelled trips to the UK because of foot & mouth disease, even though it was no threat to humans.

The first case of avian flu in France has just been confirmed today, so even western Europe is now being affected. At some point the virus will probably mutate to enable human-to-human transmission, and we will all be in trouble. In the meantime, enjoy your travels and try not to worry about something that hasn't even happened yet.

BTW, my daughter is going to Egypt next week, so I have a personal interest in this topic.

Thank you for the information. Any thoughts on traveling in late April?

April seems like a good time to visit Egypt, as far as climate is concerned, anyway. The only bugbear may be the khamsin winds which appear that time of year. I found http://touregypt.net/climate.htm, which will give you more info.