8 April 2009 -- The Ministry of Health of Egypt has reported 3 new confirmed human cases of avian influenza.

The first case is a 2 year-old boy from Kom Hamada District, El Behira Governorate. He developed symptoms on 27 March and was admitted to Naaora Fever Hospital on the 30 March where he was started on oseltamivir the same day (30 March). He remains in a stable condition.

The second case is also a 2 year-old boy from the same district and was detected through the investigation around the above-mentioned case. He developed symptoms on 31 March and was admitted to Damanhor Fever Hospital on 1 April where he was started on oseltamivir the same day (1 April ). He remains in a stable condition.

Both boys had contact with sick/dead poultry prior to the illness onset. Close contacts of both boys have been identified and none has shown symptoms of the infection .

The third case is a 6 year-old boy from Shubra El Khema District, Qaliobia Governorate. He developed symptoms on 22 March and was admitted to Ain Shams University Hospital on the 28 March where he was started on oseltamivir on 3 April. He was exposed to sick/dead poultry prior to the illness onset. He is in a critical condition.

For all of the three cases reported above, infection with H5N1 avian influenza virus was tested positive by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory and subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3).

Of the 63 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 23 have been fatal.