GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Friday that there have been 12 human cases of bird flu in Egypt, four of them fatal. This took the global total to 113 deaths out of 204 cases since 2003, the United Nations agency said. Egyptian officials had previously announced all 12 cases, including the fourth fatality, an 18-year-old girl from a province north of Cairo who died a week ago. In a statement, the WHO said one of its collaborating laboratories in Britain had now fully validated the test results obtained in Egypt. The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus was detected in birds in Egypt in February and the first human infection was reported in mid-March. All four victims have been women, who are often responsible for slaughtering and cooking domestic poultry. Of the 12 cases in Egypt, four patients have died and one remains hospitalized in stable condition, the WHO said. The remaining seven patients had fully recovered, it added. On Thursday, the WHO said a man in neighboring Sudan suspected to have bird flu had now tested negative. Infected poultry have been found in at least 19 of the 26 provinces in Egypt, the hardest-hit country in the region. Egypt is on a major route for migratory birds, at the crossroads between Asia and Africa. Cairo Zoo has also been hit badly by the virus. On Feb. 19, the health ministry ordered the closure of the zoo after several birds died from avian flu. The zoo s artificial lake was considered a breeding ground for the virus after 82 birds were found dead by the lake from avian flu. Six of them, including a duck, turkey and Chinese geese all carried the H5N1 strain. Another 563 birds who paddled in the lake were slaughtered and the government drained the water body. Bird flu has so far not been transmitted from human to human, but can be caught from infected birds. Although difficult for humans to catch, scientists fear it could mutate into a form that can pass easily between humans. You need to do more health education. Most of the cases are backyard farms and people who are not really abiding by the instructions of the government, a WHO spokesman had previously told The Daily Star Egypt. Farmers in Egypt say the poultry market is worth about LE 17 billion ($3 billion) and supports up to 3 million people, but has been devastated. Agencies
