Scientists work at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit-2 (NAMRU-2) in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 30, 2008. The U.S. Navy has long maintained the biological laboratory in Indonesia which has studied the bird flu virus to aid in the country’s efforts to stop the disease before it becomes widespread. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

CAIRO (Reuters) -
Over a quarter of Egyptians who are aware
of the dangers of the H5N1 bird flu virus continue to raise
birds at home despite warnings that this could spread the
deadly disease, a government poll showed on Tuesday.

With 50 confirmed cases of the H5N1 bird flu virus in
humans since the disease first appeared in the most populous
Arab country in early 2006, Egypt has been the worst-hit
country outside of Asia. Of those infected in Egypt, 22 have
died.

“Household flocks are the first source of transmission of
the disease,” a summary of the government survey said, adding
that many Egyptians still raise birds.

The poll, which cast a rare glimpse into attitudes of
Egyptians toward the disease, said that 48 percent of Egyptians
who previously raised birds in their homes had stopped since
bird flu emerged in Egypt two years ago.

But 28 percent said they still kept birds at home.

Additionally, three-quarters of respondents who ate poultry
reported eating freshly slaughtered meat, which 75 percent said
was widely available despite efforts to get Egyptians to switch
to frozen meat the government says is safer.

“I don't trust the frozen poultry that is sold, and I
continue to raise poultry because it is safe and sound,” the
survey quoted a 50-year-old man as saying in the southern
province of Sohag.

A 51-year-old woman in the Nile Delta who took part in the
poll said: “Everyone raises birds in their homes, and they did
not stop keeping them at any time.”

Almost all of those who caught bird flu in Egypt contracted
the disease from contact with infected household birds.

POULTRY CONSUMPTION DROPS

But the poll also said that 40 percent of Egyptians had cut
their poultry consumption and 16 percent had eliminated poultry
entirely from their diets since the disease hit Egypt, the most
populous Arab country.

Of those who cut their consumption, 89 percent cited fear
of contracting the disease as a reason. But 41 percent of
respondents said they had not changed their consumption.

About 5 million households in Egypt depend on poultry as a
main source of food and income, and the government has said
this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated despite a
large-scale poultry vaccination program.

The survey said that 89 percent of respondents would report
an infected bird if they knew of one, but 99 percent did not
know what number to call to do so.

Additionally, respondents varied in what they would do with
a sick or dead bird if they encountered one. Some 31 percent
said they would bury it, 20 percent would burn it, 20 percent
would throw it in the garbage bin and 19 percent do nothing.

“Whenever there is a search campaign in the area, families
hide the birds, claiming they have no birds out of fear they
would be taken or slaughtered without appropriate
compensation,” a 28-year-old woman told pollsters in the Nile
Delta.

Bird flu deaths total more than 230 worldwide since 2003
and have been reported in several African and Asian countries.

The poll by the Egyptian cabinet's Information and Decision
Support Centre surveyed more than 1,100 people in February and
has a margin of error of 2.6 percent.

(Writing by Cynthia Johnston, Editing by Peter Blackburn)