CAIRO, Jan 22 (Aswat Masriya) - A five-year-old child died on Thursday of H5N1 bird flu in Assiut, the health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the total deaths to seven so far this year.

The ministry announced the death of a 36-year-old woman on Wednesday, the sixth person to die of the illness since the beginning of 2015.

Infection is usually centred in rural areas, where citizens, especially women, frequently come in direct contact with live poultry. 

The World Health Organisation warned that there is a risk of human infection when the virus is circulating in poultry, especially to those in infected environments.