WHO confirms Egyptian girl died of bird flu

An Egyptian girl has died of bird flu, bringing the number of confirmed deaths from the disease in Egypt to 12, a World Health Organisation official said on Monday. Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance for the World Health Organisation said the girl, identified as Nouri Nadi, was believed to have been infected after coming into contact with sick and dead birds.

The new case brings to 20 the number of people known to have been infected with bird flu in Egypt, which has the largest known cluster of human cases outside Asia. Twelve have died and eight others have recovered since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry a year ago. (Reuters)