(Adds details of case, background)

CAIRO, April 5 (Reuters) - An Egyptian man has died of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, bringing the number of fatalities in Egypt to 21, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official said on Saturday.

Cairo-based WHO official John Jabbour told Reuters the 19-year-old victim had died on Friday after falling ill following contact with infected birds in the Nile Delta province of Beheira.

The man, identified by Egypt's state news agency MENA as Mohamed Idris Hassan Ibrahim, is the 48th Egyptian infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus since it arrived in Egypt in February 2006.

MENA said that Ibrahim had been admitted to hospital on Thursday after suffering from a high fever, difficulty breathing, and a pulmonary infection. He was treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu, but did not survive.

A 25-year-old woman died of bird flu in Egypt last month. It is the third winter the virus has struck after lying low during Egypt's hot summers.

About 5 million households in Egypt depend on poultry as a main source of food and income, and the government has said this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated despite a large-scale poultry vaccination programme.

Deaths from bird flu total more than 230 worldwide since 2003 and have been reported in several African and Asian countries. Egypt has been the worst-hit country outside of Asia. (Reporting by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Richard Williams) For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/

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