Jordan reported its first human case of bird flu on Friday in an Egyptian labourer believed to have been infected while on holiday in his home town in Egypt, health officials said. Health Minister Said Darwazeh said the 31 year old had been taken to hospital on Thursday after suffering severe breathing problems, three days after he returned from the Fayoum region in Egypt where people had been in contact with infected poultry, according to Reuters. "He tested positive for H5N1 virus on Friday but his condition is good and (he is) getting treatment and we are coordinating with the Egyptian authorities," Darwazeh told Reuters. He said tests showed there were no other cases, although Adel Belbissi, a senior ministry official, said six people who shared an apartment with the man had also been admitted to hospital for observation. The man had lived in Jordan for three years. "He was infected in his (home) country. He and his family in the village of al-Jaafra in Fayoum had slaughtered many chickens after a lot of sick poultry and birds died," Darwazeh added. Jordan's neighbours Iraq and Egypt have reported infected poultry and human deaths from bird flu. Darwazeh said the country was braced for new outbreaks. "We are prepared for the possibility of new outbreaks especially since we are close to infected areas," he said, adding that samples had been sent to the World Health Organisation.
