CAIRO, April 20 (RIA Novosti) - An 18-month-old baby
in Egypt has been confirmed with H5N1 bird flu virus, the
country health ministry said.
The girl from Kafr el-Sheikh, in northern Egypt, was
confirmed with the virus on Sunday. She is currently being
treated in hospital, her condition is described as "stable."
This is the second case in a week of someone from northern
Egypt contracting the deadly virus.
On Friday the health ministry said a woman was in hospital
with the virus after coming into contact with sick poultry.
The latest case brings the number of reported cases of
bird flu in Egypt to 66 this year.
As of April 8, a total of 417 bird flu cases had been
registered worldwide since the virus was first detected in
2003, resulting in 257 deaths, according to the WHO.
Although there have been no incidences of human-to-human
infection, experts fear that the bird flu virus may mutate into
a form that could be easily transmitted from person to person,
causing a global pandemic.
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