*Seventh Egyptian dies of bird flu *

30 Oct 2006 16:30:06 GMT
Source: Reuters

CAIRO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - An Egyptian woman died of bird flu on Monday,
bringing the total number of human deaths in Egypt to seven, the state
news agency MENA said.

The victim was a woman from the Nile Delta town of Samanoud who had
slaughtered and handled domestic poultry, it said. It was the first
human death in Egypt from the virus since May.

The agency had earlier identified the woman as 39-year-old Hanan Aboul
Magd, who was admitted to hospital with a high temperature and
respiratory trouble on Oct. 4.

She moved to a specialist hospital in Cairo on Oct. 12 and was receiving
Tamiflu, the standard treatment for the deadly virus, MENA said.

It said people with whom she was in contact have tested negative for the
H5N1 virus, which first appeared in Egypt in February and caused great
damage to the poultry industry.

With 15 infections, Egypt has had the largest cluster of human bird flu
cases outside Asia, and the latest case came a month after authorities
found a cluster of new cases in birds following a two-month lull in
detected poultry cases.

The initial bird flu outbreak caused panic in Egypt, where poultry is a
major source of protein and where poor families frequently breed chicken
domestically in cities and rural areas to supplement their diet and income.

MENA said Aboul Magd had raised a flock of 11 ducks from her home north
of the Egyptian capital. Two became sick and died, and she then
slaughtered the rest before she was hospitalised.

Egypt's commercial poultry industry has started to recover from the
disease and the vast majority of commercial flocks have been vaccinated,
but only about 20 percent of domestic birds had received vaccines,
officials say.