By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Egyptian girl has contracted the potentially deadly bird flu strain, bringing to 25 the number of people to be diagnosed with the disease since it appeared in the country last year, the state-run news agency reported.
Ten-year-old Amira Abdel Latif Nayal from the southern city of Aswan was admitted to a hospital there on Tuesday, suffering from fever and muscle pain, health ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shine told the Middle East News Agency.
Nayal tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, MENA said but gave no details on how the girl contracted the virus.
Out of the 25 Egyptians who contracted bird flu since last February, 13 have died. Most of the infected have been women or girls, who normally tend to look after chickens and turkeys kept in the backyards of Egyptian homes.