Two new cases of bird flu in Egypt have brought the total number of people affected by the virus in the country to 29 in 2014, the health ministry today said.
A six-year-old child from Giza governorate is in critical condition after being infected by the H5N1 virus.
The child suffered from fever and cough, before being transferred to hospital.
The other case, a 45-year-old man from the Nile Delta city of Menofiya, suffered from pneumonia, and was referred to intensive care unit and placed under the medical ventilator.
The ministry said that out of the 29 cases detected nationwide, 11 people have died of the infections, six others are receiving medical treatment, while 12 have recovered.
The health ministry has asked people who handle poultry to seek immediate treatment once flu symptoms appear, while strictly advising them to cover their noses and mouths when they deal with any kind of domesticated birds.
The H5N1, one of several deadly strains of bird flu, has killed more than 400 people worldwide since it first appeared in 2003, mainly in Southeast Asia.
Bird flu first appeared in Egypt in 2006.
The strain is different from the H5N8 version, whose spread on European poultry farms has prompted WHO calls for vigilance.
