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Egyptian girl infected with avian influenza
Wednesday, 14 January, 2009
An Egyptian girl of 21 months has contracted bird flu [avian A/H5N1 influenza virus] and is in hospital in a stable condition, a health ministry official said on Monday [12 Jan 2009]. She is the 52nd human case of bird flu in Egypt and the 2nd of this winter [2008/2009] season. The girl showed the 1st symptoms on Friday [9 Jan 2009] and was admitted to a specialist hospital on Saturday [10 Jan 2009], said assistant health minister Nasr el-Sayed, quoted by the state news agency MENA. The other Egyptian to contract the deadly virus this year [2008], a woman near the southern town of Assiut, died on 15 Dec 2008. From the 52 human cases in Egypt over almost 3 years, 23 have died, but the number of cases seems to be diminishing. The girl, from the village of Kerdasa on the western edge of Cairo [in the 6th October Governorate], had been in contact with infected birds and showed the usual 1st symptoms -- a high temperature, vomiting, and diarrhea, Sayed said. She is receiving the antiviral drug Tamiflu [oseltamivir], which has proven effective against bird flu if treatment starts early.
