Jump in Suspect H5N1 Cases in Southern Egypt
Recombinomics Commentary 11:38
January 5, 2008
In terms of the spread of the virus in Egypt, Beni Suef and Sohag fever hospitals yesterday received 16 cases suspected of being infected with bird flu virus, including 9 women and girls and 6 children. Blood samples of the suspected cases were sent to the central labs of the Health Ministry for analysis to verify the infection.
The above translation describes a dramatic jump in hospital admissions in southern regions. Although the first confirmed case of the season was in Beni Suef, and confirmed cases were reported there a year ago, the recent admissions in the southern cities has been limited (see satellite map). These new additions represent a trend of daily increases in admissions.
However, there have been no announcements of new confirmed cases in the past week. A small number of earlier admissions has been declared negative, but further information on the earlier cases has not been cited in local media.
More information on test results from these hospitalized suspect bird flu cases would be useful.
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