Egypt has reported its 12th human case of bird flu, with an 18-year-old girl from the northern delta region confirmed to have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, Egyptian newspapers reported yesterday.

The girl from Minufiya, some 65 km north of the capital Cairo, is currently being treated in a special hospital in Cairo with fever symptom after close contact with sick poultry. Among the 12 human cases of bird flu, three patients have died and the rest of them have either recovered or are under medical treatment.

Egypt reported the outbreak of bird flu in dead poultry on Feb.17 and found the first human case of bird flu on March 18. The Egyptian government has taken tough measures to curb the spread of the fatal disease.

The deadly H5N1 strain has killed over 100 people worldwide since its latest outbreak in southeast Asia in late 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

Most victims were infected after close contact with sick birds. The virus currently can only jump from birds to humans, but scientists fear that it could mutate into a form capable of passing easily among humans and thus spark a global pandemic.