An Egyptian health ministry official has confirmed the second human death from bird flu (avian influenza virus) in 2013, state-run news agency MENA reported on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old man, who died in Daqahliya governorate (northeast of Cairo), is one of three people infected with the virus this year, said health ministry under-secretary Amr Qandil.

The H5N1 virus, which first hit Egypt in February 2006, can infect humans in close contact with birds.