6 bird flu fatalities in first 3 weeks of 2015

A total of 21 individuals are reported to have been infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu over the past three weeks, from which six have succumbed to their infections and died. 

In light of this increased rate of infection, the Cabinet issued a decree establishing  the "Supreme Committee to Confront Bird Flu."

According to the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, the Ministry of Health confirmed a sixth fatality from the bird flu on Wednesday. As of Wednesday, the Ministry’s official website had only published information pertaining to five fatalities.  

Al-Ahram and the privately-owned Al-Shorouk newspapers reported that from these 21 bird flu infections, eight have fully recovered, seven are still quarantined/hospitalized, and six have died.

The latest fatality is reported to be that of a 36 year-old woman from Cairo. Most of the previous infections had been reported amongst women and children from rural areas of the country, primarily amongst poultry breeders, and those handling live birds.

In 2014, the Ministry of Health confirmed that a total of 27 individuals had been infected with the bird flu that year, from which a total of 11 died.

In 2015, this number appears to be increasing at a worrying rate.

This increased rate of infection prompted Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to establish a nationwide committee to combat this potentially fatal virus on Tuesday.

According to the state-owned Middle East News Agency, this prime ministerial decree establishing the "Supreme Committee to Confront Bird Flu" will now operate on a nationwide level and is presided over by the ministers of agriculture, health, local development, and the environment. 

This committee also includes the governors of Cairo, Giza, Beheira, Qalyubiya, Monufiya, Kafr al-Sheikh, Daqahliya, Fayoum, and Minya. Furthermore, this newly-formed committee reportedly includes a country-wide team of veterinarians.

A host of local media outlets issued press statements by Mehleb on Wednesday, in which he announced: “We support the poultry industry and are adamant in confronting bird flu.”

Bird flu infections in Egypt were first confirmed in 2006. Since then, over 200 individuals have reportedly been infected, although the majority of these cases have recovered.

The Ministry of Health maintains a hotline (105) through which it answers questions and queries pertaining to the bird flu virus, and methods to confront its spread.