CAIRO: Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of creating panic by raising the A(H1N1) pandemic level to phase six, declaring it a global pandemic. During his last address to the People's Assembly's health committee meeting, El-Gabaly explained that the ministry has so far received over 21,000 inquiries from citizens about the disease. According to El-Gabaly the alert level does not project the severity of the virus or the number of people infected, but rather represents the geographical spread of the disease. El-Gabaly said the virus' spread will slowdown during the coming few weeks but it will gain momentum again during the coming fall. El-Gabaly added that the Ministry of Health has so far examined around 2,500 suspected cases in Egypt who all tested negative. El-Gabaly also announced that health officials in different governorates are now obliged to sit through an oral and written exam to ensure that they are able to deal with swine flu patients. The tests will be conducted until the end of June. According to El-Gabaly, Egypt has 2.5 million Tamiflu packs - used to treat H1N1patients - and is planning to purchase an extra 2.5 million packs. El-Gabaly also said that military forces have provided the ministry with 30 million masks and are planning to provide 70 million more. The ministry also launched a hygiene campaign in public transportations, El-Gabaly said. By press time, the total number of confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in Egypt remained at 30, with 16 recovered cases and the remaining 14 still undergoing treatment. The WHO has not added any updates on the virus since Thursday.
