Avian influenza – situation in Egypt - update 5

21 April 2006

The Ministry of Health in Egypt has informed WHO of the country’s fourth death from H5N1 avian influenza. The death occurred in a previously announced patient, an 18-year-old girl from the northern governorate of Minufiyah. She developed symptoms on 5 April and died on 14 April.

The Ministry of Health regards cases as confirmed when positive results are obtained in two laboratories: the country’s national public health laboratory and the Cairo-based US Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU-3). Test results on the country’s initial cases have been fully validated by a WHO collaborating laboratory in the United Kingdom. All cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health are now listed in the WHO cumulative table of laboratory-confirmed cases.

Of the 12 cases in Egypt, four patients have died and one remains hospitalized in stable condition. Seven patients have fully recovered and been discharged from hospital.