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Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aRcU7ihTKuao
Egypt Closes Cairo Schools, Classrooms After Swine Flu Outbreak
By Daniel Williams
Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Egypt closed two schools and two university departments in Cairo and began putting lessons on television in an effort to contain swine flu after several cases of the disease among students.
A boys school and a girls school in two Cairo suburbs and the language and arts faculties at Ain Shams University are being closed for two weeks, the Health Ministry said today in a statement. A classroom at the American University in Cairo was shuttered after a student came down with the H1N1 virus over the weekend, the ministry said.
Egypt delayed the opening of its schools by a week and started classes Oct. 3, in hopes of containing the spread of the disease as pilgrims returned from Mecca. Overcrowded public school rooms may play a big role in the development of a major outbreak, said Health Ministry spokesman Abd-el Rahman Shaheen in an interview in Cairo.
Over the next six months, Egypt will take delivery of 5 million doses of flu vaccine, the Health Ministry said. It expects to receive 80,000 shots during the second half of October, 1.2 million by January, and the rest by March. The total is enough for about 6 percent of Egypt?s population of 80 million and will not cover all people considered to be at high risk. People most at risk of complications include pregnant women, babies and toddlers and those with conditions such as asthma, obesity or heart disease.
Egypt?s school population is 17 million, Shaheen said. About 1,000 people have come down with swine flu since its first appearance in the country in June, according to the ministry.
Egypt faces a particular danger because the country is being hit by three different strains of flu, Shaheen said. In addition to swine flu, known formally as H1N1, the country has seen 87 cases and three deaths -- including one earlier this month -- from H5N1 bird flu, and is also bracing for seasonal flu, which usually breaks out in the autumn.
Egypt has the highest number of deaths from bird flu of any country outside of Asia, according to WHO statistics.
To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at dwilliams41@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 12, 2009 04:35 EDT
Egypt Closes Cairo Schools, Classrooms After Swine Flu Outbreak
By Daniel Williams
Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Egypt closed two schools and two university departments in Cairo and began putting lessons on television in an effort to contain swine flu after several cases of the disease among students.
A boys school and a girls school in two Cairo suburbs and the language and arts faculties at Ain Shams University are being closed for two weeks, the Health Ministry said today in a statement. A classroom at the American University in Cairo was shuttered after a student came down with the H1N1 virus over the weekend, the ministry said.
Egypt delayed the opening of its schools by a week and started classes Oct. 3, in hopes of containing the spread of the disease as pilgrims returned from Mecca. Overcrowded public school rooms may play a big role in the development of a major outbreak, said Health Ministry spokesman Abd-el Rahman Shaheen in an interview in Cairo.
Over the next six months, Egypt will take delivery of 5 million doses of flu vaccine, the Health Ministry said. It expects to receive 80,000 shots during the second half of October, 1.2 million by January, and the rest by March. The total is enough for about 6 percent of Egypt?s population of 80 million and will not cover all people considered to be at high risk. People most at risk of complications include pregnant women, babies and toddlers and those with conditions such as asthma, obesity or heart disease.
Egypt?s school population is 17 million, Shaheen said. About 1,000 people have come down with swine flu since its first appearance in the country in June, according to the ministry.
Egypt faces a particular danger because the country is being hit by three different strains of flu, Shaheen said. In addition to swine flu, known formally as H1N1, the country has seen 87 cases and three deaths -- including one earlier this month -- from H5N1 bird flu, and is also bracing for seasonal flu, which usually breaks out in the autumn.
Egypt has the highest number of deaths from bird flu of any country outside of Asia, according to WHO statistics.
To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at dwilliams41@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 12, 2009 04:35 EDT