In all 23 people have succumbed to the avian flu virus in Egypt

The deadly bird flu virus has infected another young child in Egypt making a number of reported cases in the country 62.  The unfortunate boy Hassan Gamil Hassan who is only 21 months old was taken to hospital in the province of Beheira suffering from a very high fever and respiratory problems. Initial reports suggested that he had been in close contact with dead birds which had died from the H5N1 avian flu virus.

Egypt has suffered from a lot of bird flu cases because of the habit of families living in close contact with their poultry. In poorer regions children often play with the animals and sleep very close to them which accentuates the problem. In all 23 people have succumbed to the avian flu virus in Egypt and most of them were women who traditionally are responsible for looking after and feeding the family’s stock of poultry.

The World Health Organisation which keeps records of all bird flu outbreaks around the world recently called for an investigation to be done into why so many of the people who get infected from the virus and die from it are young children. Despite many education campaigns warning people of the dangers of the bird flu virus in Egypt, people in rural areas who are largely uneducated and who rely on the poultry for their livelihood tend to disregard the advice given to them. It is thought that in many cases when birds died from the avian flu virus the evidence was quickly destroyed because the family did not want the rest of their livestock to be culled by the authorities.

It is likely therefore that hundreds of cases of bird flu in poultry have been quickly covered up in Egypt and in other parts of the world.