Egypt reports 25th human bird flu case

The Egyptian Health Ministry Wednesday said a 10-year-old girl was tested positive to the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, bringing the number of bird flu human cases to 25 in this populous Arab nation, the official news agency MENA reported.

The girl, identified as Amira Abdel-Latif Nail, came from southern Egyptian governorate of Aswan, about 700 km south of Cairo, said Egyptian Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shaheen.

Shaheen said the girl was receiving the antiviral drug Tamiflu and her condition was stable. The rest of the family members are being tested, he said.

Egypt found the first bird flu case in dead poultry on Feb. 17, 2006 and then the virus spread to 20 of the country's 26 governorates. The populous Arab country reported first human bird flu case on March 18 of 2006.

Of the 25 human cases discovered so far, 13 died, 10 recovered while the other two are under treatment, including a four-year-old boy.

Source: Xinhua