CAIRO, Dec. 1 -- Three Egyptian women have died of H5N1 bird flu after coming into contact with infected birds, a Health Ministry statement said on Monday.

A 29-year-old woman from Minya province, south of Cairo, died on Monday after suffering breathing difficulties and pneumonia, the statement said.

Two other women, aged 25 and 40, died in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut. One of them worked in a bird farm.

The Health Ministry has confirmed a total of 11 cases this year, including six deaths.

The statement urged people in direct contact with birds to go to the nearest hospital when feeling flu symptoms. It added there are stocks of Tamiflu drug at hospitals across the country.

Egypt's H5N1 infections usually take place in rural areas in the south of the country, where villagers, mostly women, breed and slaughter poultry in home.

On its website, the ministry said the bird flu infection rate has dropped since 2012. Egypt reported 180 cases of bird flu in 2006-2012, of which 66 died.

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