Very little, if any, data exists that compellingly indicates the presence of an offensive biological warfare (BW) program in Egypt. Most of the data pertaining to its alleged involvement in a BW program is highly speculative and uncorroborated. Most allegations point toward comments made by then-president Anwar Sadat in February 1972, stating Egypt possessed some BW capability. The comments were never published widely outside Egypt and two months later, in April 1972, Egypt signed the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). It has yet to ratify the treaty. Israeli nuclear capability and the fact that Israel has not signed the BWC are possible explanations offered for the lack of an Egyptian ratification. Despite not ratifying the Convention Egypt has been active in meetings and discussions of BWC members. Western and Israeli reports often claim that Egypt is developing an illicit BW program and has worked extensively on defensive BW efforts. These reports, however, are often vague and do not provide any supporting evidence.

Egypt does have the basic biotechnical infrastructure that could serve as a potential base for a covert BW program. Being a developing nation with a strong agricultural and health services sector, Egypt legitimately conducts research on a host of diseases and pathogens that affect both humans and crops. In 1997, Egypt imported $48 million worth of biotechnology-related lab equipment, though it cannot be determined if any of it was used for research on BW-related agents. The Egyptian government anticipates this field to grow significantly in the next few years, and its current five-year plan (1998-2003) highlights the significance of scientific development and has allocated approximately $7 billion to upgrade scientific research facilities across the country.

Egypt is rumored to operate large scale dual-use facilities outside Cairo that support its alleged covert BW program. According to some experts, Egypt conducts research on various bacteria, viruses, and toxins including pathogens causing Rift Valley fever, encephalitis, and mycotoxicosis. There is no specific evidence to support these claims.

In the late 1950s, the Soviets assisted Egypt in building a large pharmaceutical complex called the El-Nasr Company for Pharmaceutical Chemicals and Antibiotics at Abu-Za'abal, which was near the Military Plant No. 801 (see Egypt's chemical overview for more information on this facility). The facility was reportedly split into two divisions, one for fermentation and the other for chemical synthesis. The fermentation division developed large volumes of culture media for developing bacteria and fungi. Again it is not clear if this culture was developed for pharmaceutical purposes or for a covert BW program.

Some very tenuous connections to a possible Egyptian BW program from open source literature include the following (it must be noted that these points also convincingly illustrate that Egypt has a modern scientific and industrial sector):

• The Public Health Institute of Bilthoven in the Netherlands helped Egypt improve production ability of toxins closely related to Botulinum toxin, including tetanus toxin and various veterinary Clostridial toxins.
• Egyptian scientists have studied plague at the U.S. Navy Medical Research Unit (NAMRU-3) in Cairo and at Walter Reed Army Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
• The El-Nasr Pharmaceutical plant cultivated, in "industrial" quantities, the non-pathogenic Bacillus subtilis to produce an enzyme. B. subtilis is related to the anthrax-causing Bacillius anthracis (which is endemic to Egypt) and has been used as a simulant for B. anthracis. Nevertheless, the bacteria has legitimate applications.
• An Egyptian scientist associated with the Egyptian Military Technical College studied Bacillus brevis for a continuous-fermentation system while at the University of Kent, England. It should be noted that B. brevis is used to produce antibiotics and is used as an adjuvant to deal with the cholera toxin. Continuous fermentation is a procedure used in developing pharamaceuticals.
• Egyptian scientists, supported by the U.S. Army, researched trichothecene mycotoxins such as T-2 toxin, vomitoxin, and fusariotoxin, which are derivatives of the fungal mold Fusarium.
• The El-Nasr Pharmaceutical Company regularly produces Gibberella fujikuori, a fungal mold closely related to Fusarium, which is used for industrial fermentation. Fusarium is a mold that can be used for the production of the T-2 mycotoxin.
• Major-General Ezz, the head of the Egyptian Chemical Corps, led a UN investigation into the use of similar weapons by the Soviet Union, including Fusarium trichothecenes, or "yellow rain." Though this incident does not clearly demonstrate any ties to a BW program, it does give some indication as to the scientific knowledge base in Egypt.

In 1993, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service released a report stating that Egypt has a biological weapons program but that "no data have been obtained to indicate the creation of biological agents in support of military offensive programs." A general lack of open source material supports the Russian supposition. Furthermore, Middle East Defense News states, "Egypt has a program of military-applied research in the sphere of biological weapons, but no data has been obtained on the creation of biological agents in the interests of military offensive programs."

Key Sources: Ronald Mason, "Buying Time to Face New Weapons Arms-Control Efforts in the Gulf May Fall on Stony Ground," International Defense Review, Vol. 27, No. 12, 1 December 1994, p. 33; Dany Shoham, "Chemical and Biological Weapons in Egypt," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 5, No. 53, Spring-Summer 1998, pp. 48-58.; Market Assessment: Market Profile, STAT-USA on the Internet, U.S. Department of Commerce, available online at <http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/>; I.Y. Hamdan and V.M. Villalobos, "Status and Prospects of Biotechnology in the Near East and North Africa," Food and Agricultural Organization Report, <http://www.fao.org/docrep/V4845E/V4845E0g.htm>.

	Updated September 2007