A 10-years-old girl from the town of Naqada in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena, about 450 km south of Cairo, was admitted to hospital after developing bird flu-like symptoms, Shahin said, without disclosing her name.

The victim, who is believed to have contacted infected birds, brought to 35 the number of human bird flu cases in Egypt, according to the spokesman.

Among the previous 34 human cases, 14 of them died and 20 recovered, said the official.

Egypt reported its first case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in dead poultry in February 2006 and the first human case in March of the same year.