News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Agriculture officials in Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in birds, a first for each country.

The outbreak in Bangladesh struck chickens at a state-run poultry farm in Savar, near the capital, Dhaka, the Associated Press (AP) reported today. Government sources said farm workers had recently culled all 30,000 chickens at the farm after many of them died mysteriously, the AP said.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today recognized eight human cases of H5N1 avian influenza previously reported in Egypt, pushing the global case count to 204, with 113 deaths.

The Egyptian government has been reporting a total of 12 human cases, but until today the WHO had listed only 4 cases in Egypt.

(CIDRAP News) – The human toll of avian influenza in Egypt rose to 11 cases today with reports that an 18-year-old girl has died and an 8-year-old boy is hospitalized with the illness.

April 3, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – The deaths of four Egyptians have been laid at the door of avian influenza, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed today, while Egyptian officials' case tally has reached twice that number.

In addition, an Egyptian was diagnosed with avian flu in Jordan late last week, though he contracted the disease in Egypt, according to news services.