Egyptian health officials announced Monday that an 18-year-old woman admitted to a hospital in Kafr al-Sheikh may have contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus, which would mark the country's fifth confirmed human infection. Her condition was described as stable while additional laboratory tests were pending.
Egypt had already recorded four confirmed cases, with one death: a woman from Qaliubiya governorate, north of Cairo. The remaining three survivors are largely recovered, with only one still receiving hospital care.
Bird flu has now reached 19 of Egypt's 26 provinces, including the Mediterranean coastal region of Kafr al-Sheikh. The WHO reports that H5N1 has claimed nearly 100 lives globally. Egypt's position as a crossroads for migratory birds between Asia and Africa makes it especially vulnerable to the virus's spread.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2006, in its own words.