A 37-year-old Egyptian woman tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus and European officials on Wednesday debated whether they needed to take more action after an outbreak of the virus in British turkeys.

The World Health Organization confirmed the woman had tested positive for the avian influenza virus, making her the 21st case in Egypt. She was being treated in a hospital.

Egypt has the highest-known cluster of human cases outside Asia, with 12 deaths out of the 21 infected cases since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry a year ago.

The woman, who kept birds in her home, was admitted to the hospital on February 12 after coming into contact with infected poultry, officials said.

The H5N1 virus is on the move again after an apparent lull in recent months. Outbreaks in birds have caused concern in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey, Pakistan, Hungary and in Nigeria, which reported its first human death earlier this month.

It continues to kill people and poultry alike in Indonesia, as well. WHO says there have been 273 human cases worldwide and 166 deaths since 2003. More than 200 million birds have died or been slaughtered.

The virus is a threat mostly to birds and the poultry trade now, although health experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmitted from one person to another, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions of people.