An Egyptian woman died of bird flu on Sunday, hours after tests confirmed she and two other members of her extended family had been suffering from the highly pathogenic virus, a World Health Organization official said, according to Reuters. WHO regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance Hassan el-Bushra said the 30-year-old woman had been in hospital since December 17, but doctors had not immediately suspected bird flu as she denied having had contact with poultry. The woman was part of an extended family of 33 living in a single house in a village near the town of Zifta in Gharbiya province, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Cairo, and was the third family member diagnosed with bird flu in 24 hours. Earlier on Sunday, Bushra confirmed that two siblings from the same house, a brother, 26, and sister, 15, had the virus. Bushra said the family raised ducks in their home, and the brother and sister had slaughtered the flock after a number of ducks had become sick and died.
