Egyptian woman tests positive for bird flu- WHO

CAIRO, Feb 14 (Reuters) A 37-year-old Egyptian woman has tested positive for the deadly bird flu virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in Egypt to 21, a World Health Organisation official said today.

''There is a case, 37-years old, from Fayoum. She has been transferred to Abbasiya (hospital) in good condition,'' said Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance for the World Health Organisation.

A Health Ministry statement identified the woman as Nadia Abdel-Hafez from Fayoum province southwest of Cairo, the same area where a 17-year-old girl died of bird flu earlier this month.

Bird flu is known to have infected some 21 people in Egypt, which has the highest known cluster of human cases outside Asia. Twelve Egyptians have died since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry a year ago.

Most people infected in Egypt had been in contact with poultry kept at home. Bird flu initially caused panic across the country and did extensive damage to the poultry industry.

The Egyptian government said last month poultry production had recovered to 1.8 million birds a day, just short of the 2 million produced before the outbreak.

Reuters KD DB1814