Egypt records 19th bird flue fatality after two women die Monday

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Egyptian health officials reported the deaths Monday of two women from bird flu, bringing to 19 the number of the country's fatalities since the lethal H5N1 strain first appeared here last year. The deaths, along with those of two other women just days ago, bring to four the number of women who died from the strain in a single week. The Health Ministry first reported Monday the death of Fardous Mahammed Hadad, 36, from Menoufia, 60 kilometers north of Cairo. Hadad, who was said to have contracted the disease from domestic fowl, was admitted to hospital on Sunday with breathing difficulties and high fever and later tested positive on the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the ministry said.