# 9614
Although it is not yet on the Egyptian MOH site (they often take 24 hours to post), at least a half dozen media outlets are quoting the MOH as announcing 3 new cases, and their 7th fatality of the year.
First one of those reports, then I’ll be back with a bit more.
Thursday 22 January 2015-03: 43 pm
The Ministry of health MOH Reham Saeed
The Ministry of Health announced the results of 3 positive cases of bird flu.
The first case of a child of 7 months of dairut, Assuit, the second of a two-year-old girl from manfalout in Assiut, under treatment in hospitals and general condition is stable, and the third case is a 37-year-old from Western Province and died.
In a statement Thursday, the total number of cases of bird flu in 2015 so far 24 cases (8 cases of healing, 9 cases under treatment, 7 deaths).
It called upon the Ministry of health and population of citizens who are dealing with immediate direction to the nearest poultry hospital for the health service if they have flu symptoms, a sign that had infected with the bird flu drug Tamiflu within the first 24 hours of the onset of symptoms increases the healing rates of disease and reduces death rates.
The Health Ministry advised people who deal with poultry to be careful and prudent when dealing with birds that show symptoms of disease and the need to take preventive action to prevent infection such as covering your mouth and nose when handling poultry, wash hands with SOAP and water after handling birds and children not accompany poultry or slaughter premises as well as the need to separate from living birds.
It was only last Sunday (see Egypt MOH: Three H5N1 Statements & Confirmation Of 17th Case) that the Minister of Health was pointing to a 13.3% mortality rate for the month of January as a `hopeful sign’. Since then, there have been 7 additional cases reported and 4 more deaths attributed to the virus, pushing the mortality rate for January to 30%, with the fate of 9 hospitalized cases still unknown.
Not far from Egypt’s long-term CFR for H5N1, which has hovered around 35% over the past 9 years.
Meanwhile we are seeing a great many high-level meetings among officials, plans to vaccinate large numbers of poultry at the village level, and declarations of emergency in various governorates, such as this one from Beheira (`The Lake’).
Lake declared a State of emergency to cope with bird flu
Thursday, January 22, 2015-2: 51 pm
The Governor stressed Lake Mustapha hadhoud need to take all the precautions needed to protect and educate citizens for addressing avian influenza and reduce the transmission of infections, especially after the high incidence and the appearance of new spots.
This came during a meeting of the Governor Thursday, January 22 with all stakeholders from agriculture, veterinary medicine, health and preventive medicine and the Chamber of Commerce and local unit chiefs and media in the presence of Deputy Governor Mrs. Nadia Abdo, and General Secretary Mohamed El Sira and Assistant General Secretary Eng Fathi Ghani, to discuss preparations and measures needed to cope with the disease.
Despite this ongoing surge in H5N1 cases, thus far we’ve seen no indication from the MOH of large clusters, or other signs suggestive of human-to-human transmission.
