Egyptian woman tests positive for bird flu-MENA

CAIRO, March 1 (Reuters) - A 25-year-old Egyptian woman tested positive for bird flu on Saturday, the 45th confirmed human case in the Arab world's most populous country, state news agency MENA said.

Ministry of Health spokesman Abdel Rahman Shaheen said the woman had been treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu and had been transferred from Fayoum province to a hospital in Cairo, the agency said.

The woman was suffering from a high fever, both her lungs were inflamed, and she was being kept on a respirator and under observation, Shaheen said.

A 4-year-old girl tested positive for bird flu on Monday.

Four Egyptian women died from bird flu in December. Their deaths ended a 5-month pause in human cases in Egypt and brought to 19 the number of Egyptians who have died of the H5N1 bird flu virus since it emerged in Egypt in early 2006.

It is the third winter the virus has struck after lying low during Egypt's hot summers.

Around 5 million households in Egypt depend on poultry as a main source of food and income, and the government has said this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated despite a large-scale poultry vaccination programme.

Deaths from bird flu total more than 230 worldwide since 2003 and have been reported in several African and Asian countries. Egypt has been the worst-hit country outside of Asia.

Health experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily from one person to another, possibly triggering a pandemic that could kill millions. (Writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni; editing by Keith Weir)

(aziz.el-kaissouni@reuters.com; +20 2 2578 3290/1; Reuters Messaging: aziz.el-kaissouni.reuters.com@reuters.net))