A 33-year-old woman died of bird flu on Friday, bringing to 26 the fatalities from the disease since the deadly virus first appeared in Egypt in 2006, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

Sa'adiya Mohamed Abdel-Latif, from Qaleen town, Kafr el-Sheikh governorate, died from the avian influenza after suffering breathing problems, said Abdel-Rahman Shahin.

She was admitted to Kafr el-Sheikh Fever Hospital on April 15 with high fever, he added.

According to lab tests, the woman had been in direct contact with dead fowl infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the spokesman said.