Egyptian woman with bird flu dies - health official

CAIRO, Feb 16 (Reuters) A 37-year-old Egyptian woman who tested positive for the bird flu virus has died in hospital, bringing the number of deaths from the disease in Egypt to 13, a government health official said today.

''She died yesterday evening,'' said Amr Qandil, director of communicable diseases at the Egyptian Health Ministry.

The woman, Nadia Abdel Hafez, had been reported in stable and improving condition after being transferred to a Cairo hospital, but her condition later deteriorated, officials said.

Egypt has the highest known cluster of human bird flu cases outside Asia, with 13 deaths out of the 21 known human cases since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry a year ago.

Abdel Hafez, who kept birds in her home, was admitted to hospital on February. 12 after coming into contact with infected poultry. She was from Fayoum, the same province where a 17-year-old girl died of bird flu earlier this month.

REUTERS PDM PM1701