Woman first Egyptian bird flu victim

CAIRO - A 30-year-old Egyptian woman has died of bird flu, becoming the country's first human victim of the virus, the Health Ministry said.

The woman was from Qaloubiyah province, about 40km north of Cairo, where the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain had been detected in poultry.

She had been given Tamiflu, which is used to treat suspected bird flu.

Israel said that four poultry workers suspected of having bird flu had tested negative for the virus, after the country detected its first cases of H5N1 in birds on Saturday.

Bird flu has spread across Europe, Africa and Asia and killed at least 98 people since 2003.

- REUTERS