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A 26-year-old Egyptian man has died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the third member of his extended family to die of the virus, a World Health Organisation official says. All three cases belong to one extended family in Gharbiyah province, 80 kilometres northwest of the capital city, Cairo.
The patients had all been in contact with sick ducks, WHO said. Egypt has struggled to control H5N1 outbreaks in poultry, first reported in February, leading to at least 18 human cases, including 10 deaths.
First a 30-year-old woman died from the disease on 24 December. Then a 15-year-old girl, the niece of the women, died on Monday 25 December. Another member of the family, the woman’s nephew who was also diagnosed with bird flu, is in stable condition.
All three victims lived in the same house, along with 27 other relatives, said Egyptian authorities. The backyard of the house had a large number of ducks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the family members became ill after slaughtering the ducks in an attempt to stem the spread of bird flu in the area. Tests revealed that at least three of the ducks were infected with the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus strain.
This latest outbreak is a shock to the country and especially to those who rely very much on ducks and poultry to exist. Culling has the effect of destroying the livelyhood of many families.
Vietnam has also detected a bird flu outbreak that killed 450 ducks in Long My district in Hau Giang province, the third province to report infections in December, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s department for animal health said in a report posted on its Web site.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population is conducting further investigations and has initiated public health measures. The other family members remain healthy and have been placed under close observation.
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