Three in Egyptian family have bird flu

Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance at the World Health Organisation was cited as saying the family raised ducks, and the brother and sister had slaughtered the flock after a number of ducks had become sick and died.

The patients have been moved to a hospital in Cairo and have been treated with the drug oseltamivir, with the rest of the family being kept under close medical surveillance, Bushra said.

The new cases bring the human infection toll in Egypt to 18, seven of whom have dies from the disease since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry in February.