Cairo: Two more Egyptians have been infected with the bird flu virus, Egyptian Health Minister Hatem Al Gabali said on Sunday, taking to eight the number of reported human cases in the country.
The two were sisters, one aged 18 months and the other six years, from Kafr Al Sheikh province north of Cairo. The pair, who had handled dead birds, were in a stable condition. Blood tests on their immediate family were negative for the virus.
Nasser Kamel, from the Supreme National Committee to Combat Bird Flu, said: "The cases were detected relatively early on and the two patients responded well to medication."
An Egyptian labourer working in Jordan was diagnosed with the disease on Friday.
A World Health Organisation spokesman said only five cases had been confirmed by the organisation in the country till the two new cases. Of the five, two have died, two have recovered and one is still in hospital. Bird flu has killed at least 105 people worldwide.
The disease was first detected in Egypt in February and has since devastated its poultry industry.
