It is the first human death in Egypt from the virus sinceJune and the 16th since the disease arrived in early 2006.
The ministry named the woman as Ola Younis from Beni Harounvillage in Beni Suef province, south of Cairo.
She entered Beni Suef hospital on December 21 with a hightemperature and breathing problems, was diagnosed on Tuesdayand died the same day, it said in a statement.
Younis had been in contact with birds thought to beinfected with bird flu, the ministry said. The state newsagency MENA said health officials were checking her relativesto see whether they showed traces of the virus.
The H5N1 virus which causes bird flu tends to lie dormantduring the summer and Egyptian officials had hoped that aftertwo years of outbreaks it would not re-occur this winter.
The case brings the total among humans in Egypt to 39.
The death toll is the highest for any country outside Asiaand could reflect the high population density in agriculturalparts of Egypt.
(Writing by Jonathan Wright; editing by Robert Woodward)