# 3165
Getting updates out of Egypt about the H5N1 bird flu or the H1N1 Swine flu in recent weeks has been difficult.
Officially, Egypt doesn’t have any H1N1 Swine flu cases yet.
The Arabic media continues to report on numerous `suspect’ cases of bird and swine flu, and the government has issued several emergency decrees (including the slaughter of all pigs in that country), indicating a heightened state of concern.
But `official’ news has been slow in coming.
It should be noted, however, that Egypt has tested thousands of `suspect’ cases over the past three years, and only 69 have tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
`Suspect’ doesn’t mean much when only about 1% of those cases test positive.
The WHO (World Health Organization) last updated Egypt’s bird flu cases on May 6th, when they announced an infection that was diagnosed on April 23rd.
No explanation was offered for the delay in reporting.
Also a bit curious is the WHO’s case count, both in their last update and in the Cumulative Case Count Chart issued on the same date where they show only 23 fatalities in Egypt (and none in 2009).
Numerous news sources (including the SAIDR website – recently updated) have reported on 3 bird flu fatalities in Egypt in April, which should bring the total to 26.
An overview (PDF File) of the April cases from SAIDR can be downloaded here.
Today’s report, from Reuters, also references the 26 deaths to date.
Egyptian girl contracts bird flu, 69th case
10 May 2009 20:12:51 GMT
Source: Reuters
CAIRO, May 10 (Reuters) - A five-year-old Egyptian girl has contracted the highly pathogenic bird flu virus after coming into contact with infected birds, the state news agency MENA reported on Sunday.
<snip>
MENA, citing the Health Ministry, said the girl from Sohag province was admitted to hospital on Saturday. It said she was being treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and was in a stable condition.
Some 26 Egyptians have died after contracting the virus.
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