H5N1 claims Eighth Victim in Egypt

Hours after being tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, an Egyptian woman passed away on Sunday.

With the death of the 30-year-old woman, who was admitted to Cairo's Abbasiya fever hospital Saturday, the number of total human deaths from the lethal disease in Egypt rose to eight since March this year, a World Health Organization official said.

The eighth victim had been in hospital since December 17, but was not immediately suspected of being infected with the bird flu virus by the doctors as she denied having had contact with poultry, said Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance at the WHO.

The woman belonged to an extended family of 33 living in a single house in a village near the town of Zifta in Gharbiya province, about 90 km north of Cairo, and engaged in raising poultry.

Two siblings, a brother and sister, aged 26 and 15, from the same house were also diagnosed with the H5N1 virus on Saturday. The duo had become infected after culling the flock in an effort to check the spread of the H5N1 virus. Both are in stable conditions after they were admitted to the Abbasiya hospital, el-Bushra said.

After detecting three cases of deadly virus in three of the same family, the World Health Organization is now keeping close watch over rest of the family members. Medical teams had been sent to the infected region to slaughter all birds around, el-Bushra said.

Egypt, a major route for migratory birds and one of the countries worst hit by the virus outside Asia, detected the first bird flu case in dead poultry Feb 17, 2006, which then spread to 20 of the country's 26 governorates, and reported the first human bird flu case on March 18.

Since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry, the total number of human bird flu cases has risen to 18, including country’s eighth victim.

The deaths caused by the deadly virus generated anxiety and fear among Egyptian people for whom poultry is a major source of protein. Poor families living in cities as well as in rural areas frequently breed chicken and ducks to supplement their diet and income.