Two deaths in two days from bird flu

The victims were a 30-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl, who may be two of the three family members reported to have bird flu only days ago.

WHO regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance Hassan el-Bushra said the infected family members were part of an extended family of 33 living in a single house in a village near the town of Zifta in Gharbiya province, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Cairo.

Bushra said the family raised ducks in their home, and that the ducks had been slaughtered after several had become sick and died.

The initial bird flu outbreak caused panic in Egypt, where poultry is a major source of protein, and poor families frequently breed chicken and ducks domestically in cities and rural areas to supplement their diet and income.

Eighteen people have been reported to have contracted avian flu since it was detected in Egypt in February. The virus has spread to at least 19 of the country’s 26 provinces.