The Ministry of Health has confirmed a seventh fatal case of bird flu. The patient was infected through slaughtering and cleaning infected domestic poultry at her home city of Samoud, El-Gharbiya governorate, read the ministry s statement. The female patient was admitted to the hospital in El-Mahalla El-Kobra on Oct. 4 suffering from fever, coughing and breathing problems. She was transferred to Al-Abassiya Hospital in Cairo on Oct. 12 after tests revealed a severe case of lung infection. According to the ministry, the woman received a dose of Tamiflu, a widely recognized anti-bird flu drug, after tests confirmed her infection with the virus. The patient was on an artificial respiratory machine when she suffered heart failure. She died on Oct. 30. The ministry confirms that all the people the patient may have come into contact with have been checked. The follow up revealed that they didn t show any of the symptoms, the statement added. Last week, Health Minister Hatem Al-Gabali said he feared a fresh spate of human bird flu cases in the coming weeks. Bird flu is still present and we will witness new cases this winter. We just hope they won t be fatal, he told parliament. The population still refrains from informing the authorities when poultry is infected, especially in domestic rearing, he added.
