A woman died from bird flu in Cairo on Wednesday to bring the death toll from the virus in January to six, exceeding half the overall number of bird flu deaths in 2014. 

Another case was confirmed in the southern city of Assiut, the health ministry said. The three-year-old boy is receiving treatment in a Cairo hospital.

Since the start of 2015, 21 bird flu cases have been recorded in Egypt, of which eight have recovered, six died and another seven are undergoing treatment.

Last year, 11 people died from bird flu.

Most cases of bird flu in Egypt have been identified in rural areas, where villagers, especially women, tend to raise poultry in their homes, increasing exposure to live or dead infected birds.

The virus first appeared in Egypt in 2006.