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Egypt confirms 50th case of human bird flu infection

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CAIRO, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - Tests confirmed that a two year-old Egyptian boy has been infected with the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, bringing the number of cases to 50 in the country, the state-run MENA news agency said.

The boy, who became infected after contact with domestic poultry, started to display symptoms of the disease Sunday and is currently in a Cairo hospital in a stable condition.

Of all Egypt's bird flu cases 22 have been fatal with women accounting for 75% of the deaths. Women and children are the most vulnerable to the virus as they traditionally look after poultry, making up over 90% of all people infected.

Since the virus first appeared in Egypt in February 2006, the country has become the worst-hit outside Asia, with the first human cases being recorded a month after the original outbreak.

A 30 year-old woman died of avian influenza on Friday in Cairo after being in contact with sick and dead poultry.

Officials cite poor-quality bird flu vaccines as one of the causes of the frequent outbreaks of the disease in the most populous Arab country.

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