Re: Egyptian man dies of bird flu, 10th death
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (192): EGYPT, CORRECTION
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A ProMED-mail post
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[A discrepancy has arisen between the number of human cases and
deaths listed in a 27 Dec 2006 ProMED posting on the outbreak of
avian influenza in Egypt (Avian influenza, human (191): Egypt
20061227.3624), which are one fewer than the numbers of cases and
deaths now listed in the most recent cumulative total released by the
World Health Organisation (WHO) on 27 Dec 2006
(<
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2006_12_27/en/index.html>).
The error may have arisen from the ProMED Moderator's assumption that
the 30-year-old woman described in Avian influenza, human (189):
Egypt
20061224.3602 of 24 Dec 2006 was the same person as the woman
described in the WHO update of 27 Dec 2006 quoted in Avian influenza,
human (192): Egypt, WHO
20061228.3634 of 28 Dec 2006.
The CIDRAP News report of Wed 27 Dec 2006 which is consistent with
the WHO case and fatality counts is reproduced here to restore
clarity. - Mod.CP]
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Date: Wed 27 Dec 2006
From: ProMED-mail <
promed@promedmail.org>
Source: CIDRAP News, Wed 27 Dec 2006 [edited]
<
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/dec2706egypt.html>
A 26-year-old Egyptian man died of H5N1 avian influenza today [27 Dec
2006], the World Health Organization (WHO) reported, bringing to 3
the number of deaths from the disease since Christmas Eve [24 Dec
2006]. A 30-year-old woman died 24 Dec 2006, and a 15-year-old girl
died 25 Dec, several media outlets reported. The 3 patients become
Egypt's 16th, 17th, and 18th cases and the country's 8th, 9th, and 10th deaths.
All 3 patients were from an extended family living in the Gharbiya
province in the Nile Delta, about 50 miles northwest of Cairo, the
WHO reported. The patients died while being transferred and cared for
at Egypt's designated avian influenza hospital. Samples from the 3
patients tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza at the Egyptian
Central Public Health Laboratory. The virus was also detected in
samples from 2 of the patients in tests conducted at the US Naval
Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU-3). The WHO said the samples will be
sent to the WHO Collaborating Center for further testing and virus
characterization.
The WHO said other family members remain healthy and are under close
observation. The Egyptian health ministry is conducting further
investigations and has initiated public health measures. The 3
patients lived with 33 members of an extended family in a compound in
the town of Hanut, the New York Times reported today. The woman and
man were reported to be siblings, and the girl, their niece. They
reportedly fell ill after slaughtering ducks for a cousin's wedding,
the Times reported.
The new cases and deaths aren't surprising, Abdel Rahman Shaheen, an
advisor to Egypt's health ministry, told Agence France-Presse today.
"When we had a period of calm between May and October [2006], people
started thinking the disease was over, but we insisted on creating
more awareness among the people," he said. "We are still expecting
more cases, but the idea is to keep them to the smallest possible
number," he added.
The H5N1 virus first struck Egyptian poultry in February 2006, and a
series of human cases followed in April and May. Cases in poultry
resurfaced in Egypt 5 Sep 2006, when an outbreak was reported on a
farm in the southern province of Sohag, about 305 miles south of
Cairo. Another outbreak was reported in late September [2006] among
domestic birds at a home near Aswan, in southern Egypt, near the
border with Sudan. Several isolated cases of highly pathogenic H5N1
avian influenza in poultry have been reported in Egypt since
September [2006], according to a recent update from the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Cases have been confirmed in 9 provinces.
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