Egypt's Ministry of Health dismissed reports of Dengue fever cases in both the Red Sea city of Qusair and in Upper Egypt's Qena governorate, saying that all the cases received by hospitals on Saturday varied between normal fever, headaches and muscle pain unrelated to the mosquito-borne disease. All the suspected cases were properly treated and sent home from hospital, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported on Sunday. Several news websites on Saturday reported cases of Dengue fever, including a death incident of a child in Qusair city. Most of the alleged cases were reported from the Red Sea Governorate of Qusair and Upper Egypt's Qena governorate. Ministry of Health spokesperson Khaled Megahed said that limited cases have appeared in the Red Sea Qusair city in the past due to the presence of the virus-carrying mosquito larva, known as Aedes aegypti, in water reservoirs. Megahed noted that 80 percent of city reservoirs are not casketed with plate covers, providing a fertile environment for the growth of the disease-transmitting mosquito larva. Several cases of Dengue Fever emerged in 2015 in Upper Egypt's Assiut governorate, but all cases were treated without reporting any incidence of death, Megahed added. The spokesman said that the ministry's Preventive Medicine Sector is closely following all developments regarding the disease. The sector is also taking preventive measures in Qusair city, including emptying water reservoirs to eliminate the mosquito larva. Megahed noted that Dengue Fever is not transmitted from one person to another through contact, touching, or saliva, but rather is caused by a direct bite from a carrier mosquito to a person. The disease present in more than 100 countries all over the world and is not likely to cause death, the spokesman added.
