CAIRO: Health Ministry official Mohamed Attah announced the discovery of 17 new cases of swine flu, bringing the total number to 255, of which 167 have recovered, one died and 87 are under treatment.
Abdel Rahman Shaheen, the Ministry of Health spokesman, explained in an official statement that the 17 cases, include 14 Egyptians who recently arrived from Saudi Arabia, Britain, Indonesia, and three who were in contact with some of them. The last three are two Saudi and one Kuwaiti citizen.
Commenting on the recent increase in the number of cases, Dr Ahmed Abdel Aziz, professor of clinical pharmacy at Helwan University, said that the spread rate of the virus in Egypt is moderate and that he finds the current situation reassuring.
“The real danger is if the virus mutates into a combination of of bird flu and swine flu . the world must find a vaccine before this happens, said Abdel Aziz.
In response to what was raised on some electronic sites regarding the ineffectiveness of the drug Tamiflu, both Atta and Abdel Aziz denied the claims as well as rumors about the emergence of cases resistant to the drug in Egypt.
Abdel Aziz also clarified that the drug limits the communicability of the virus but does not eliminate it.
