A young Egyptian woman died from bird flu Tuesday.

Egypt's MENA news agency quotes the health ministry as saying the 25-year-old woman from Fayyum died in a Giza hospital south of the capital, Cairo.

Of the 44 bird flu cases confirmed in Egypt, 20 have been fatal. 

Most of the fatalities have been women or girls whose families raise poultry, which brings them into daily contact with chickens or turkeys.

Close to five million Egyptian households depend on poultry for food or income.  The government says this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated, despite a large-scale poultry vaccination program.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.