Egypt said on Thursday a fourth person had died after being infected with the bird flu virus, the state MENA news agency said. The latest death was an 18-year-old woman from a province north of Cairo, who was admitted to hospital on Monday. Egypt has so far reported 12 human bird flu cases. The disease, which has killed at least 109 people worldwide, has spread rapidly since 2003 from Asia to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. While mainly affecting animals, scientists fear the disease could mutate into a form that can pass easily between humans, sparking a pandemic. Bird flu was detected in birds in Egypt in February and the first human infection was reported in mid-March. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already said it was concerned about the disease's human toll in a relatively short period of time.
