Disease Outbreak News

2006 - Egypt

11 October 2006

Description of the situation

11 October 2006

The Ministry of Health in Egypt has confirmed the country’s first case of human infection with the H5N1 virus since May of this year.

The patient is a 39-year-old woman from the Gharbiya governorate in the Nile Delta. She developed symptoms on 30 September and was hospitalized on 4 October. She subsequently developed pneumonia. She remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Her recent history includes the home slaughter and defeathering of around a dozen ducks when signs of illness and deaths began to occur in the flock

Egypt reported a recurrence of poultry outbreaks in backyard flocks in September 2006.

Previous human cases occurred from late March 2006 through May. To date, the country has reported 15 cases, of which 6 were fatal.