Poultry International - January 2013 - 14
12 Cairo Poultry Company Avian influenza/continued particularly in slums and rural areas and, it was accepted, in 2008, that the disease was endemic. There are ongoing initiatives to vaccinate initiated by universities and animal health companies, but success with vaccinating on farm has been limited. What makes Egypt so complicated? Egypt lies on the one of the main migratory routes for wild birds, so there is a constant risk of the disease being spread. In addition, there is a significant duck population, which has been found to be a common factor across those countries where avian influenza has become endemic. A further complication is that various avian influenza virus strains have been found to be circulating in the country. With careful planning, the date and time of hatch is controlled, meaning that chicks can be shipped during the coolest part of the day. produces 90 million day-old broiler chicks each year, accounting for 13 percent of the Egyptian market. The hatchery is run by two managers with the help of nine shift engineers and 60 other employees. In addition, there are support staff and drivers. Infection control The Nubaria hatchery is the larger of the fully integrated company's two hatcheries, and although at a relatively isolated location, biosecurity is high on the agenda. Vehicles entering the premises are automatically washed down and disinfected and visitors must shower. All internal processes run from clean to dirty and static air pressure follows the same course. Strict protocols for disinfection are followed and the building is regularly swabbed. And this attention to preventing possible infection extends to the chicks that the hatchery sends to the Cairo Poultry Company's farms. While Egypt has around 16 large-scale integrated producers, there is also a high Hatcheries Sector Manager Aysar Abu El-Enen explains that day-old chicks are either injected or spray vaccinated against avian influenza or Newcastle disease, with vaccines varied depending on where in the country they are to be reared. While adamant that it is up to everyone to protect themselves against disease, he is critical of the consequences resulting from the fragmented nature of the Egyptian poultry industry, saying he wished rooftop rearing would "disappear" but adding that there is greater risk from small farms than backyard rearing. The facility achieves 83 percent hatchability In and out Eggs are delivered from breeding farms to the hatchery's storage room, and some come marked with a blue cross to indicate if there is doubt over their hatchability. Storage at the reception room, where the temperature is held at 18-19C, is for a maximum of one day, before eggs are moved off to one of four storage rooms with a combined capacity for 1 million eggs. www.WATTAgNet.com | January 2013
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