CAIRO - Egypt's health ministry on Sunday announced the death of a 25-year-old woman from the H5N1 strain of bird flu -- the second case in one week.
Fatma Fathi Mohammed, 25, died in hospital in the Nile Delta province of Mansura, where she was admitted on December 27 after complaining of high fever and shortness of breath, Health ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shahin said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.
Mohammed, who comes from neighbouring Daqahliya province, had been exposed to infected poultry, Shahin said.
Her death was the 17th in Egypt from the disease since the virus first appeared in the country in February 2006.
She was the second woman to die of bird flu in a week. Oula Yunes Ali, 25, died on Tuesday after being admitted to hospital the previous Friday with a high fever.
Women and children have borne the brunt of the virus because of their role in taking care of domestic fowl.
Egypt's location on major bird migration routes and the widespread practice of keeping domestic fowl near living quarters have led to it being the hardest-hit country outside Asia.
The government says it is conducting a vigorous campaign to combat the spread of the virus through vaccinations and raising awareness.
The World Health Organisation said earlier this year that countries around the world had improved their resistance to bird flu, but the situation remains critical in Egypt and Indonesia where the risk of the H5N1 virus mutating into a major human threat remains high.
Egypt and Indonesia remained high-risk because of the permanent contact that many people in both nations have with domesticated birds.
jaz/srm
12/30/2007 17:48 GMT