Egypt says a 13th citizen has died of bird flu
Pastor Dale Morgan
Egypt says a 13th citizen has died of bird flu*
18.02.2007
pravda.ru
An Egyptian woman died early Friday of the H5N1 strain of bird flu,
bringing the number of deaths in the country to 13, a government
official said.
Nadia Abdel Hafez, a 37-year-old housewife from the oasis town of
Fayoum, had been admitted to a local clinic on Monday.
After tests revealed the H5N1 virus, Abdel Hafez was transferred to a
hospital in Cairo, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the north, where her
condition was initially reported as stable.
But she died in the early hours of Friday, said the official, who spoke
on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the
press.
Twenty-one people have been infected with H5N1 in Egypt so far, of which
13 have died. All but one of the fatalities have been women as it is
they who tend to look after backyard poultry in Egypt. Women also tend
to kill and cook the chickens and turkeys.
Since the outbreak of bird flu began last year, Egypt has been one of
the worst-affected countries outside Asia, where the disease originated.
Also, Egypt experienced an increase in the death rate during the winter,
which sparked fears that the virus might be mutating to a more drug
resistant form.
The World Health Organization has reported that mutations have been
found in two fatalities in Egypt. The virus had mutated to a form that
might be resistant to Tamiflu, a drug also known as oseltamivir.
The WHO said the mutations were not drastic enough to spark a pandemic,
but more mutations could prompt scientists to rethink current treatment
strategies, reports AP.
Bird flu was first detected in Egypt in February 2006 and has spread to
at least 19 of the country's 26 provinces. The previous fatality was a
17-year-old girl who died on Feb. 5.
The H5N1 strain has hit at least 45 countries and killed more than 167
people worldwide.