Five Suspect H5N1 Cases in Egypt
Recombinomics Commentary
January 19, 2007
Another five persons were suspected of having been infected with bird flu virus in Egypt, an Egyptian Health Ministry official said on Friday.
Three women had already been sent to a fever hospital in downtown Cairo after being suspected of having been infected with the deadly disease, the official was quoted by Egyptian TV as saying.
Due to the same reason, another lady and a child have also been sent to a hospital in Fayyum governorate, 85 km south to Cairo, the official added.
The above comments on five suspect bird flu cases in Egypt are cause for concern. Although suspect cases are frequently cited in the local media, transfer to the fever hospital in Cairo and verification by the Health Ministry increases the likelihood that cases will be confirmed.
Human cases in Egypt have developed early this season. Last season, the first case was confirmed in mid-March. This season the first case was confirmed in October, followed by a cluster of three in December and a fifth case this month. All five of these cases have died, and the two sequences from the cluster had the Tamiflu resistance marker N294S. The presence of the change in both cluster members, as well as detection in ducks, suggests the resistance was not from Tamiflu treatment, which began two days prior to sample collection.
The announcement of five more suspect cases is cause for concern.
Media sources
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