A 20-year-old female died Wednesday of bird flu in Upper Egypt's Assiut, bringing the local death toll of the internationally spread disease to nine deaths since the beginning of 2014. The spokesman of the Egyptian health ministry, Dr Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, told Ahram Online that symptoms appeared in the victim on 10 December, but she was only taken to hospital four days later. The girl died in Assiut University Hospital. Reuters' Aswat Masriya cited Assuit's health director as mentioning that the infection was detected after the girl had direct contact with birds. Bird flu first appeared in Egypt in 2006, with 72 deaths out of 191 infections so far, which is less than international death rates, according to a statement by Egyptian Health Minister Adel Adawy. At least 15 infections have been identified by Egypt's health ministry this year. The ministry has announced preventive measures taken to combat the spread of bird flu and assured that the anti-viral medication use to treat bird flu, Tamiflu, is available in public hospitals across Egypt. The Egyptian health ministry issued a statement calling on all citizens that handle poultry to seek immediate examination once symptoms start to appear, while strictly advising them to cover their noses and mouths as they handle any kind of domesticated birds. The last previous reported death from bird flu took place in Sohag city, Upper Egypt, last week. A teacher was transferred to hospital earier in the week, but efforts to treat her failed. Source : Ahram online
