Abstract
The age-specific infection and death profiles among confirmed human cases of influenza A(H5N1) infection in Egypt differ markedly from those recorded in other countries. The case fatality rate among human H5N1 cases in Egypt is 34%, versus an average of 66% in other countries. In Egypt, children younger than 10 years comprise 48% of reported cases, nearly twice the global average of approximately 25%, and no H5N1 fatalities have been confirmed among individuals in this age group as of 23 April 2009. Females outnumber males among confirmed H5N1 cases by a factor of nearly 2:1, and 90% of reported fatalities in Egypt have been females. The evident age and sex biases in morbidity and mortality among H5N1 cases in Egypt are phenomena that warrant further investigation and analysis.
Highlights
The first cases of human infection with avian influenza type A(H5N1) were reported from Egypt in March 2006, and a cumulative total of 67 confirmed cases including 23 fatalities have been reported as of 23 April 2009 [1]
The age-specific infection and death profiles among confirmed human A(H5N1) cases in Egypt (Figure 1), differ markedly from those recorded in Asia and Indonesia when compared to cumulative data for countries worldwide other than Egypt, Nigeria, and Turkey (Figure 2)
Human H5N1 cases in Egypt are most frequently reported among children younger than 10 years, and approximately 80% of all reported cases have occurred among individuals under the age of 30 years
Summary
The first cases of human infection with avian influenza type A(H5N1) were reported from Egypt in March 2006, and a cumulative total of 67 confirmed cases including 23 fatalities have been reported as of 23 April 2009 [1]. The age-specific infection and death profiles among confirmed human A(H5N1) cases in Egypt (Figure 1), differ markedly from those recorded in Asia and Indonesia when compared to cumulative data for countries worldwide other than Egypt, Nigeria, and Turkey (Figure 2). The average case fatality rate from H5N1 among children aged 0-9 years from all countries other than Egypt and Turkey is 59%, no confirmed fatalities among 33 children in this age cohort have been reported from Egypt as of 23 April 2009. A similar pattern is evident for H5N1 cases in Turkey during January 2006; 11 of 21 confirmed H5N1 cases in Turkey were children in the age group 0-9 years, no confirmed fatalities were reported in this age cohort [6]
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