Young Egyptian Woman Dies of Bird Flu

An Egyptian woman has died of bird flu in the southern province of Assiut, the second death from the H5N1 virus in Egypt this year, reveal a health official.

The 22-year-old woman died on Sunday after she was diagnosed with the disease on November 10, said Ahmed Abdel Hamid, a health ministry official in Assiut, 385 kilometres (230 miles) south of Cairo.

"This is the first case of bird flu infection and death in Assiut," Abdel Hamid told AFP.

He said the woman's two-year-old girl was also infected with the virus, but that relatives had "escaped" from hospital with the child.

"We are trying to quarantine all those who came in contact with the infant," he said.

Health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghafar said seven people had been infected with the virus in Egypt this year.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003. Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has claimed more than 170 lives since emerging in 2013.

Source: AFP