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Health body confirms 4 Egypt bird flu cases

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 14:38 CDT

CAIRO (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that four Egyptians have caught bird flu, including two who died from the virus, an Egyptian Health Ministry official said on Monday.

Nasr al-Sayyed told Reuters that a WHO laboratory in Britain had verified the four cases as the dangerous H5N1 strain of the virus. The result was received on Sunday, he said. The Egyptian government sends samples from people it suspects have caught the virus to the WHO for final confirmation.

The government says a total of eight Egyptians have been infected by bird flu. Two of those have recovered, while the others are still being treated.

Two sisters aged 18 months and six years were the most recent cases reported by the government, although the WHO has yet to confirm they have the virus. They are in intensive care, the official MENA news agency quoted the health minister as saying on Monday.

Bird flu has killed at least 107 people worldwide, including the deaths in Egypt, according to the most recent figures from the WHO.

The virus was first detected in Egypt in birds in February and has devastated the poultry industry. The government has banned domestic rearing of fowl, but people in poor rural areas are ignoring instructions to get rid of their poultry.

Bird flu has so far not been transmitted from human to human, but can be caught from infected birds. Although difficult for humans to catch, scientists fear it could mutate into a form that can pass easily between humans.

Source: REUTERS

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