Videos of an alleged virus leading to the death of chickens in Egypt have spread on social media, raising concerns among consumers.
Ahmed, a poultry shop owner, told the Al-Ahram Weekly that consumer demand for chicken has not waned despite the rumours, however.
“Buyers are exercising more caution when selecting their chickens. High mortality rates among poultry are a recurring issue, particularly during the summer months due to high temperatures,” he said.
The videos prompted the Cabinet’s Media Centre to issue a statement saying that the Ministry of Agriculture has conducted inspections of a sample of around 3,500 facilities housing more than 22.5 million birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, and quail, and concluded that infection rates remained within normal ranges.
It added that the samples were analysed at the National Laboratory for Monitoring Poultry Production, with the results confirming that the overall epidemiological situation remains stable.
Since the beginning of the year, over 4.5 million birds have been vaccinated, and monitoring campaigns have been launched to detect any emerging strains of a virus that might pose a threat to poultry production, the statement added.
The Cabinet Media Centre also noted that preventive investigation teams nationwide are working in coordination with the Preventive Medicine Sector and the General Authority for Veterinary Services, particularly in areas near poultry farms and markets, in order to ensure the early detection of any potential infections.
Preventive measures are conducted in collaboration between the Health and Agriculture Ministries.
Egypt has attained near self-sufficiency in poultry, with annual production reaching 1.5 billion birds and 15 billion eggs.
While the Cabinet statement may have calmed fears among the public, for Hoda, a teacher in her 30s with two children, it is still “better to be safe than sorry.”
Hoda said that she has not stopped buying chickens and eggs after the spread of the rumours. “Chickens and eggs are packed with protein, essential for my children’s nutrition. However, I have taken several precautions. I select the chickens carefully before slaughter, ensuring that they show visible signs of health. After they have been slaughtered, I wash the poultry thoroughly with vinegar and lemon juice,” she told the Weekly.
Hoda had at first turned to quail eggs as an alternative to chicken eggs, but she found them impractical due to their small size and higher cost. She continues to buy regular poultry eggs, opting for packaged products from large farms despite the higher price, considering them safer than the loose eggs sold in smaller shops.
Sanaa, a supermarket cashier, said that she had decided to purchase frozen chicken produced two or three months prior to the outbreak of the rumours in order to avoid potentially infected poultry.
When she went to a poultry shop, she noticed a price drop of LE20 per kg in the price of chicken, finding fillet chicken selling for LE215.
She added that a poultry farm owner had told her that “high mortality rates occur at this time every year due to the heat, especially if the farm is open-air and lacks proper enclosures.”
“Poultry are prone to common diseases rather than epidemics, but regular vaccinations are administered. Nonetheless, a certain percentage of mortality is expected on every farm, especially if they are privately operated, where the responsibility for vaccination lies with the owners,” Abdel-Aziz al-Sayed, head of the Poultry Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, told the Weekly.
The average poultry mortality rate ranges between five and 10 per cent, he said, depending on vaccination rates and the severity of heat waves. “The virus issue is nothing more than a rumour. There are no mutations or epidemic viruses. What we are witnessing are common poultry diseases for which vaccines already exist,” he added.
Heat stress, or the death of poultry due to high temperatures, is more common in open-air farms, where it is not possible to regulate internal temperatures, leaving birds exposed to climatic conditions. In closed-system farms, where temperature control is applied, heat-related mortality can be prevented, al-Sayed said.
Training courses for poultry farmers are organised in cooperation with the Animal Health Institute and the General Authority for Veterinary Services, he noted, adding that visits are conducted nationwide to provide technical guidance and raise awareness regarding the implementation of biosecurity measures and appropriate responses to poultry diseases.
“The main challenge lies in achieving fair prices for poultry, which is critical to enabling farmers to sustain production, modernise their facilities, and transition from outside to closed-system farms,” he said, referring to the presidential initiative to modernise poultry farms supported by financing from the Agricultural Bank.
“Nevertheless, establishing a fair pricing mechanism remains essential, ideally one that reflects the costs of feed, chicks, vaccinations, mortality rates, and a reasonable profit margin,” al-Sayed said.
Magdi Sayed Hassan, head of the Poultry Breeding Research Department at the Animal Production Research Institute, advises farmers to administer vaccinations on schedule and add vitamin supplements to drinking water to mitigate heat stress and avoid common diseases.
He also advised that poultry farms be regularly disinfected to eliminate bacteria and viruses. Prior to the introduction of new chicks, it is crucial to inspect equipment, including feeders, heaters, bedding, lighting systems and timers, and the electrical system to maintain the appropriate conditions for raising poultry, he added.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 June, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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