Egyptian woman tests positive for bird flu-WHO

CAIRO, Jan 17 (Reuters) A 27-year-old Egyptian woman tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, a World Health Organisation official said today.

The virus has claimed 10 lives in Egypt while eight other positive cases recovered since it first surfaced in Egyptian poultry in February.

''Unfortunately, yes there is a new case,'' said Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance for the World Health Organisation.

He told Reuters tests carried out by Egyptian authorities were positive for the H5N1 virus and he was awaiting the results of a second set of tests.

The official Middle East News Agency (MENA) identified the woman as Warda Eid Ahmed from the province of Beni Suef south of the capital Cairo. The agency quoted an Egyptian Health Ministry official as saying she has been hospitalised since January 13 with a serious pulmonary inflammation.

REUTERS MS ND1922