Aug 31, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Egyptian authorities have reported two more H5N1 avian influenza cases, both in children, raising the country's total for this year to 34, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.
Both patients have been treated with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and are in stable condition, the WHO said.
One is a 14-year-old girl from Damitta governorate who fell ill on Aug 21 and was hospitalized 2 days later. The other patient is 2-year-old girl from Menofyia governorate. She became ill Aug 23 and was admitted to a fever hospital Aug 26, the agency said.
The WHO said investigations indicated that both girls had contact with dead and/or sick poultry.
Meanwhile, the Egypt-based Web site Strengthening Avian Influenza Detection and Response (SAIDR) reported that sampling triggered by the human case in Menofyia detected the virus yesterday in some household chickens. SAIDR said two other poultry outbreaks were also found yesterday, in Fayoum and Beheira governorates.
Of the 34 human H5N1 cases in Egypt this year, 4 have been fatal. The country has had a total of 85 cases and 27 deaths since the avian flu virus arrived in 2006, according to the WHO.
With the latest cases, the WHO's global H5N1 count reached 440 cases with 262 deaths.
See also:
Aug 31 WHO report on Egypt H5N1 cases
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_08_31/en/index.html
