CAIRO: Egypt’s Health Ministry has announced the 29th death from swine flu as well as the first infection in an Egyptian pilgrim in Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, 45-year-old Hassan Ibrahim Abdel Meguid from Minya died of swine flu after being admitted to hospital with respiratory problems on Dec. 3.
Furthermore, pilgrim Mustafa Awad Mohamed Metwalli from Suez tests came positive with H1N1 and was admitted to El-Ansar Hospital in Medina, Saudi Arabia for treatment.
On a related note, Dr. Saad El-Maghrabi, Deputy Minister of Health for private hospitals, said in a statement that the price of the lab test for H1N1 virus has been decreased form LE 800 to LE 450 in non-governmental hospitals, emphasizing that the ministry will continue to administer the test to the less privileged for free in public hospitals.
El-Maghrabi added that the that the ministry will be closely monitoring private testing facilities to ensure service quality and the fact they will not be over-charging patients. -Daily News Egypt
