CAIRO: A four-year-old boy from Sharqeya has contracted the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, the 70th such case in Egypt since the disease was identified in 2006, the health ministry said on Thursday.
The boy was hospitalized with a fever and taken to Cairo where he tested positive for the virus, state news agency MENA quoted ministry official Amr Qandil as saying.
The boy is being treated with antiviral drug Tamiflu and is in a stable condition, the ministry said, adding that he had been in contact with sick birds.
Egypt is one of the countries most affected by bird flu, with 26 people dead from the disease since it first appeared in 2006.
Egypt has seen an increase in bird flu cases over the past two months. The World Health Organization (WHO) called in March for an investigation into why many of the victims have been young children.
In rural areas poultry are traditionally raised on rooftops, often in close proximity to young children.
The WHO estimates that the H5N1 strain of the virus has killed around 250 people since 2003, mainly in Southeast Asia. -AFP
