Bird-flu mutates in Egypt, tamiflu-resistant strain of H51 emerges

Jan 18, 2007 – Two patients who recently died of H5N1 avian influenza in Egypt had a strain of the virus that was moderately resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today, but the finding has not prompted new health advisories.

News of the drug-resistant strain came as Egypt's health ministry announced a new human H5N1 case, involving a 27-year-old woman from the town of Beni Suef, about 62 miles south of Cairo. The report was carried today by IRIN, a United Nations news and information service.