Lisa Schnirring 
Feb 8, 2010 (CIDRAP News) – Egypt's health ministry has announced two new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, both in women who had exposure to sick birds, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.
One of the patients is a 40-year-old woman from Banha district in Daquahliya governorate, northeast of Cairo, who got sick on Jan 31 and was hospitalized 2 days later. In the hospital she received oseltamivir and is in stable condition, the WHO said.
The other woman, age 29, is from Elsadat district in Menofia governorate, located north of Cairo. She became ill on Jan 27 and was treated with oseltamivir after being hospitalized on Feb 3. She is in critical condition.
The women's illnesses are listed as Egypt's 95th and 96thH5N1 cases, of which 27 have been fatal.
Flu blogs today, citing translated sources from the Egyptian media, reported another H5N1 infection, which if confirmed by the WHO will be listed at Egypt's 97th case. A report posted on FluTrackers said Egypt's health ministry announced that the latest case is in a man from Helwan governorate, in the suburbs of Cairo, who got sick on Jan 31 after contact with sick birds. The report said he received oseltamivir in a hospital, where he is in critical condition.
Egypt recently reported four other human H5N1 cases, involving two adults and two children. Though none of the patients were related, they all reportedly had contact with infected poultry. The reports follow a spike in confirmed poultry outbreaks in Egypt.
Today's WHO confirmations raise the global H5N1 case total to 473, of which 282 have been fatal.
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