The Minister of Health and Population, Ahmed Emad Al-Din, announced on Friday that the ministry will completely eradicate the dengue virus and the mosquito vectors from Egypt within the coming few days.
The Minister’s statements came as part of a press release issued from his Ministry, on the efforts exerted by the government to eliminate the presence of the virus. Din denied any deaths caused by dengue in any other city in the Red Sea, adding that the spread of the virus was exaggerated in the media.
“People infected with the virus in Egypt totaled 245 cases as of Wednesday 210 cases out of which are completely cured,” the minister said, noting that Qusair has 65,000 resident, “35 people are receiving treatment in hospitals” the statement read.
The Ministry of Health and Population ascertained throughout the statement that the data issued by the ministry is documented and the number of cases announced is the actual number of cases diagnosed and admitted to Egyptian hospitals.
“The Ministry of Health and Population calls upon all concerned parties not to issue any official statement based on non reliable sources and to rely only on the official documents released by the Egyptian government” the statement cautioned.
Dengue symptoms are similar to influenza. The virus is treated with Paracetamol and rehydration solutions. People with temperatures above 40 ° C are held in the hospital, especially the elderly or children.
Din explained that the Ministry of Health combed through all areas of the Red Sea in search of the mosquito-carrying disease or cases of infection. The majority of infections were found in Qusair and five cases in Safaga.
He said that the same infection occurred in October 2015 in Dairut village in Upper Egypt and the disease was eliminated within a month.
“A medical team of 111 doctors and the undersecretaries of the Ministry of Health were dispatched to Qusair to address the disease” he stated.
The minister explained that the virus carrying mosquito multiplies in fresh water. People storing uncovered water on the top of their houses cause mosquitoes to grow in reservoirs. The poor handling of public faucets resulted in unclean water pools and swamps as well in streets contributing to the spread of mosquitoes.
The health minister mentioned that Prime Minister Sherif Ismail instructed the construction of a new water desalination plant with a capacity of 40,000 cubic meters to cover the needs of the city at a value between LE250 to LE50 million, in addition to the construction of another desalination plant in Safaga, in cooperation with the Ministries of Planning and Housing.
The two stations are to be established within a year, he added.
Dengue has not spread in Egypt, and comes from the tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa. It is carried by a mosquito called Aedes aegypti, spreading west of the sources of the Nile, he said.
