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| Clashes erupt over Egypt pig cull | Clashes erupt over Egypt pig cull |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| Pig farmers have clashed with police in Cairo as they try to stop their animals being taken for slaughter, reports say. | Pig farmers have clashed with police in Cairo as they try to stop their animals being taken for slaughter, reports say. |
| Hundreds of people at the Manshiyat Nasr slum threw stones and bottles at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. | |
| The authorities are carrying out a mass pig cull in what they at first said was a precaution against swine flu but now describe as a general health measure. | The authorities are carrying out a mass pig cull in what they at first said was a precaution against swine flu but now describe as a general health measure. |
| UN health experts have criticised the move as unnecessary and a mistake. | |
| In Mexico, where the global swine flu outbreak started, the authorities said it could be stabilising. | |
| Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the country was seeing fewer cases every day. | Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the country was seeing fewer cases every day. |
| Globally more than 700 people are known to be infected. | Globally more than 700 people are known to be infected. |
| Person-to-person transmission has been confirmed in six countries. | Person-to-person transmission has been confirmed in six countries. |
| But in cases outside Mexico, the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe. | But in cases outside Mexico, the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe. |
| Overreaction charge | Overreaction charge |
| There have been no cases of swine flu in Egypt. | There have been no cases of swine flu in Egypt. |
| Pig-farming and consumption is limited to Egypt's Christian minority, estimated at 10% of the population. | Pig-farming and consumption is limited to Egypt's Christian minority, estimated at 10% of the population. |
| On Saturday, health officials began the slaughter in earnest, moving in on a city slum where rubbish collectors are said to keep around 60,000 pigs. | On Saturday, health officials began the slaughter in earnest, moving in on a city slum where rubbish collectors are said to keep around 60,000 pigs. |
| The slaughter is expected to take around a month. | The slaughter is expected to take around a month. |
| Officials say the cull is aimed at bringing order to the country's pig-rearing industry, so that in future animals are not reared on rubbish tips but on proper farms. | Officials say the cull is aimed at bringing order to the country's pig-rearing industry, so that in future animals are not reared on rubbish tips but on proper farms. |
| The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the government has been criticised for overreacting to the threat, but it was also criticised for responding too slowly to the bird flu crisis two years ago. | The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the government has been criticised for overreacting to the threat, but it was also criticised for responding too slowly to the bird flu crisis two years ago. |
| When bird flu appeared in the country in 2006 mass culls were carried out but at least 22 humans died from the disease. | When bird flu appeared in the country in 2006 mass culls were carried out but at least 22 humans died from the disease. |