Monday, March 19, 2007
Egyptian boy, 2, tests positive for bird flu
CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - A 2-year-old Egyptian boy has tested positive for bird flu, bringing the number of people who have contracted the disease in the most populous Arab country to 26, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
The ministry identified the boy as Youssef Mohamed Mahmoud and said he was admitted to hospital on Friday in Aswan, the same southern city where a 10-year-old girl tested positive for the disease last week. She has since recovered.
“He’s in good condition now because Tamiflu was given within 24 hours after the onset of symptoms,” John Jabbour, a World Health Organisation official in Cairo, told Reuters.
Jabbour said there was no apparent link between the two Aswan cases, and the Health Ministry said in a statement that members of the boy’s family were under observation.
Bird flu story source: Reuters