# 410
While details are still sketchy, we are receiving word that a 17 year-old girl from Feyyoum Province, south of Cairo, has died of Bird flu. This from Reuters:
WHO confirms Egyptian girl dies of bird flu
05 Feb 2007 21:01:12 GMT
Source: Reuters
CAIRO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - An Egyptian girl has died of bird flu south of Cairo, bringing the number of confirmed deaths from the disease in Egypt to 12, a World Health Organisation official said on Monday.
Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance for the World Health Organisation, said the girl was believed to have been infected after coming into contact with sick and dead birds.
Egypt's state news agency MENA identified the girl as 17-year-old Nouri Nadi of Fayyoum province. Bushra said she had started showing symptoms of the illness in late January, but initial tests had indicated she had seasonal flu. Later tests were positive for the H5N1 virus.
Neither Bushra nor MENA said when the girl died, but both indicated the death was recent.
Once again, we have a case where initial testing did not reveal the H5N1 virus. No details were given as to the course of her illness, her hospitalization (if any), or treatment.
Recent cases in Egypt have reportedly exhibited `moderate' Tamiflu resistance, and Bushra said it was too early to tell if Nadi had been infected with the mutated strain.
Bushra said he was unsure whether Nadi had been treated with Tamiflu at all, since early tests for bird flu in the girl were negative.
Over the past 30 days Arabic newspapers have had numerous articles indicating that multiple people were being treated for suspected H5N1 infection in Egypt. We rarely hear a follow up to these reports.
Most are likely seasonal flu, given that deaths are rarely reported.
Obviously, though, human bird flu infections continue to occur, at least sporadically. Typical of the sort of reporting we see, is this, from www.almasry-alyoum.com. A tip of the hat to Theresa42 at Flutrackers for finding, and translating this one.
Injuring five symptoms similar to bird flu in three provinces.
The mountain is expected to increase casualties in February
Jan 30, 2007
Mohamed Mahmoud Al-Gamal governorates Nofal, Mahmoud Said Menshawi, and Nafe
Detained Hospital pathogenesis Port [Said?] homemaker and a baby, for getting symptoms similar to bird flu.
Turning to the health and veterinary medicine to a house suspected of being infected and invited India to iron <38> from the village of Sea Cow and raising birds found their home, and a reservation at the birds to see how she was diagnosed with the disease, also took samples of baby <Mohamed> 3 months and sent to labs in central Cairo.
Also detained yesterday, the first three new human cases in on suspicion of injury symptoms similar to bird flu, where he was greeted patients called the Hamdi and Huda Eid from the village of the city Manov after suffering symptoms similar to H5N1.
Regrettably, these reports seem to appear in the local media, and then there is rarely any follow up. For newshounds on the net, it is frustrating indeed. Once again, seasonal flu is far more likely than H5N1 in most of these cases.
There are many unanswered questions regarding this latest case in Egypt. Was the patient treated with Tamiflu? Did she have a resistant strain? How did she contract the virus? Are any other's being tested?
We'll have to wait for those answers.
