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CAIRO - An eight-year old boy has contracted the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, the health ministry announced on Saturday.
Abdel Hamid al-Sayyed Yussuf from Fayoum, south of Cairo, was admitted to a local hospital after coming into contact with infected poultry, spokesman Abdul Rahman Shaheen told the official MENA news agency.
Yussuf had been complaining of high fever and shortness of breath, Shaheen said, adding that the boy was transferred to a Cairo hospital on Saturday.
He became the 47th case of the virus reported in Egypt since the first outbreak was announced in February 2006.
A total of 20 people have died in Egypt from the virulent strain.
Women and children have borne the brunt of the virus due to their role in taking care of domestic fowl in Egypt.
- AFP /ls
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