Sixth Qinghai H5N1 Fatality in Egypt
Recombinomics Commentary
February 5, 2007
The girl has been identified as Nouri Nadi, 17, of Fayyoum province. The WHO official said the girl was believed to have been infected after coming into contact with sick and dead birds.
The above comments describe the sixth confirmed H5N1 case in Egypt. All six cases have died. Three of the fatalities were family members from Gharbiya. Sequences from two indicated they had the Tamiflu resistance marker, N294S, which was present prior to treatment.
The patients also had HA M230I, which was also in the first case this season. M230I has also been seen in the H7N3 outbreak in England as well as recent poultry isolates in Egypt.
However, the 2007 case from Beni Suef, which is geographically close to the case described above and did not have M230I or the Tamiflu resistance marker, N294S.
More information on the sequences from the Fayyoum fatality would be useful.
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