Third Egyptian child tests positive for bird flu

A third Egyptian child has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, bringing the number of human cases in Egypt to 32, state news agency MENA said on Saturday.

An official with the health ministry said the 4-year-old girl came from Qalyoubia province, north of Cairo, MENA said.

Earlier, the health ministry said a 4-year-old boy from Qena province, around 670 kilometers (416 miles) south of Cairo, and a 7-year-old boy from Sohag province, around 470 kilometers south of Cairo, had been infected with bird flu.

The 4-year-old girl was admitted to hospital on Friday, MENA said, while the two others were admitted on Thursday.

All three had been suffering from fevers and had been treated with the antiviral Tamiflu drug.

Egypt has the highest number of confirmed human bird flu cases outside Asia.

Thirteen Egyptians have died from bird flu since it first surfaced in the country's poultry a year ago. Most of those who fell ill were reported to have had contact with sick or dead household birds, primarily in northern Egypt.

On Tuesday two children tested positive for bird flu and are stable, according to Hassan al-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable disease surveillance for WHO.

Health experts fear the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from human to human, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.