Egypt
With nearly 80 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and the second-most populous country on the African continent. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Egypt has made significant progress in decreasing the prevalence of communicable diseases; however, schistosomiasis, a water-borne parasitic infection, remains a significant public health problem. In addition, WHO reports that hepatitis B and C viruses are of major concern. Egypt has the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the world. Tuberculosis is also a prevalent communicable disease in Egypt.
In 2006, avian influenza (H5N1) was found in poultry in Egypt, and the first human H5N1 case was reported in the country. At the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008, Egypt reported widespread H5N1 outbreaks among domestic and commercial poultry (including vaccinated poultry) and poultry in live-bird markets. WHO declared H5N1 to be endemic in Egypt in 2008.
NIAID Funding
NIAID funds a variety of projects in Egypt, including studies to understand the host immune response to HCV and research to understand the accelerated progression of liver disease due to co-infection with HCV and the schistosome parasite. NIAID also funds Egyptian studies related to AIDS, cholera, and trachoma.
Scientific Advance
Leading Cause of Blindness May Be Controlled by Simple Course of Oral Antibiotic
A 1999 study co-funded by NIAID found that treating communities with a short course of the oral antibiotic azithromycin is more effective than the standard six-week course of daily tetracycline ointment in controlling development of trachoma, an infectious eye disease that persists in many parts of the developing world.
Researchers compared the effect of the two antibiotic regimens on infection rates in villages in trachoma-endemic areas of Egypt, The Gambia, and Tanzania. Village-by-village comparison of treatments showed that three doses of oral azithromycin at one-week intervals reduced levels of infection significantly more than the standard tetracycline regimen. Furthermore, village-wide treatment with azithromycin resulted in a 60- to 90-percent decrease in infection rates a year later.
Today, azithromycin is part of WHO's recommendation for treating infection by Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium that causes trachoma.
Learn more about the azithromycin study.
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