 |
||
|
Bird flu claims first human victim in Egypt
|
||
|
CAIRO: A 30-year-old Egyptian woman has died of bird flu, becoming the country's first human victim of the virus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. It said the woman from Qaloubiyah province; about 40km north of Cairo, where H5N1 strain has been detected in poultry, was taken ill on Wednesday. "Doctors took samples for analysis at the Health Ministry laboratories. "They confirmed she was infected with bird flu. "She died on Friday morning," a ministry statement said. Israel said on Saturday that four poultry workers suspect ed of having bird flu tested negative after the country |
detected its first cases of H5N1 in birds on Friday. Bird flu has spread across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia and killed at least 98 people worldwide since 2003. Although hard to catch, people can contract bird flu after coming into contact with infected birds. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily between humans, triggering a pandemic in which millions could die. Israeli workers culled thousands of turkeys and chickens but authorities said further tests were needed to confirm whether an outbreak on two farms was of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. |
In a rare act of cooperation, Israel tested dead fowl found in the West Bank and Gaza on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Serbia on Saturday said three children and a teenager from a bird flu-affected area were in hospital after developing fever and flu-like symptoms. Three women who died in Azerbaijan are also thought to be bird flu victims, but the WHO is awaiting the results of further tests before confirming the cause of death. Reuters |
|
|
||
