Health ministry officials have announced that three children have contracted the potentially deadly strain of bird flu, bringing the total number of Egyptians to be diagnosed with the disease to more than 30 since it appeared in the country last year, state-run news agency said. The first case was identified as 4-year-old Ibrahim Mahmoud Helmi of the southern Qena province, the Middle East News Agency, or MENA, reported Saturday. Another 4-year-old Egyptian girl, identified as Mariam Issa Idris of the Qalyoubiya province north of Cairo, who also tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu strain on Saturday. MENA's said both Helmi and Idris were in stable conditions at area hospitals and were being treated with Tamiflu, a drug that is commonly used to treat the disease. The two children contracted the virus from domestic birds their family raise at home, the agency reported.
