A 37-year-old Egyptian woman who tested positive for the bird flu virus has died in hospital, bringing the number of deaths from the disease in Egypt to 13, a government health official said on Friday.

"She died yesterday evening," said Amr Qandil, director of communicable diseases at the Egyptian Health Ministry.

The woman, Nadia Abdel Hafez, had been reported in stable and improving condition after being transferred to a Cairo hospital, but her condition later deteriorated, officials said.

Egypt has the highest known cluster of human bird flu cases outside Asia, with 13 deaths out of the 21 known human cases since the virus first surfaced in Egyptian poultry a year ago.

Abdel Hafez, who kept birds in her home, was admitted to hospital on February 12 after coming into contact with infected poultry. She was from Fayoum, the same province where a 17-year-old girl died of bird flu earlier this month.

16 February 2007

The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has confirmed the country´s 13th death from H5N1 avian influenza. The 37-year-old female whose infection was announced on 15 February, died today.

Of the 21 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 13 have been fatal.