A four-year-old girl in Egypt has tested positive for bird flu, the 44th confirmed human case of the deadly disease in the Arab world's most populous country.
Egyptian health ministry officials say the girl is from the southern village of Sheik Massoud in Minya province. She was admitted to a Cairo hospital for treatment on Monday.
Of the 44 bird flu cases confirmed so far in Egypt, 19 have been fatal. Most of the fatalities have been women or girls whose families raise poultry, which brings them into daily contact with chickens or turkeys.
Close to five million Egyptian households depend on poultry for food or income. The government says this makes it unlikely that the disease can be eradicated despite a large-scale poultry vaccination program.
Four Egyptian women died from bird flu last December.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
