Jan 28, 2010 (CIDRAP News) – Egypt's health ministry has confirmed four new H5N1 avian influenza cases, which aren't related although all had contact with sick and dead poultry and are recovering in stable condition, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.
News of the four cases comes the same day researchers detailed the epidemiologic patterns of Egypt's H5N1 cases in Eurosurveillance. The report suggests that children have been disproportionately affected as well as women, a group that is more likely to die from H5N1 infection. The new report also shows a connection between early treatment and recovery.
The new cases include:
* A 20-year-old woman from Beni Suef governorate who got sick on Jan 6 and was hospitalized and started on oseltamivir (Tamiflu) on Jan 11; this case appears to be the same one reported on Jan 13 by Strengthening Avian Influenza Detection and Response (SAIDR), an Egypt-based project funded by the US Agency for International Development
* A 1-year-old boy from Dakahalya governorate who got sick on Jan 7 and was hospitalized and treated with oseltamivir on Jan 12
* A 3-year-old boy from Assuit governorate who became ill on Jan 19 and was hospitalized and treated on Jan 12
* A 45-year-old man from Sharkia governorate who started experiencing symptoms on Jan 12 and was hospitalized and treated on Jan 19
The four H5N1 cases bring Egypt's total to 94, of which 27 have been fatal. They are the first cases to be reported in 2010. Last year Egypt reported 39 avian flu cases, up dramatically from 8 in 2008. However, the number of deaths for both years was the same, at 4. The new cases raise the world's H5N1 count to 471 cases, including 282 deaths.
New reports of human infections appear to mirror a recent spike in poultry infections in Egypt. On Jan 19 animal health authorities announced that they had recently detected 17 household outbreaks across 8 governorates as the result of increased passive surveillance in veterinary clinics.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan2810egypt-jw.html