Egypt registered its second recorded death from bird flu, now identified as the H5N1 variant.

This most recent fatality, a 19-year-old woman, was from the country's Assiut Province. The region lies along the Nile River and is almost midway between the Mediterranean coast to the north and the Sudanese border in the south.

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"This is the first case of bird flu infection and death in Assiut," health official Abdel Hamid told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Hamid said the victim was brought to a local hospital on November 10 along with her two-year-old child, who was also identified has having contracted the virus. The mother died soon after, and frightened by her death, the woman's parents "escaped" with the child from the hospital. Their current locations are not known.

"We are trying to quarantine all those who came in contact with the infant," Hamid said.

First classified in 2003, H5N1 is a disease common to the avian populations of Asia and the Middle East. As with all bird flus, H5N1 is poorly adapted to transition to humans and infection between people remains rare. Proper cooking kills the virus in infected food. However, upon infecting a human host, the viral sub-type can have a 60 percent kill-rate. 

The victim and her family are reported to have raised chickens at home. 

According to the World Health Organization, H5N1 has killed up to 393 people since its emergence, mostly in Southeast Asia. Egypt has recorded seven H5N1 infections this year. 

While treatable, fears of a possible H5N1 epidemic sent shock waves through Europe: Officials in the United Kingdom have ordered vaccines, which are still in early development, for the virus to be stockpiled. The Dutch government recently banned the transportation of eggs and poultry for fear of a winter outbreak.

TagsH5N1, Egypt