Following Egypt's first swine flu fatality calls to postpone the omra and hajj are growing, reports Reem Leila The Health Ministry announced Egypt's first swine flu fatality on 19 July. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Samah El-Sayed Salima, recently returned from Saudi Arabia after the omra. Her death came after the Health Ministry had repeatedly advised pilgrims to cancel omra trips. El-Sayed began suffering flu-like symptoms in Mecca. She also had an underlying heart condition. Egypt's first cases of swine flu were confirmed in June among people travelling from the US. Soon cases were being reported among passengers coming from Western countries and from Saudi Arabia after performing omra rituals. The Ministry of Health began to call on the public to postpone both the omra and hajj for this year, while issuing reassurances that "Egypt is internally safe". Abdel-Rahman Shahin, official spokesman at the Ministry of Health, says El-Sayed travelled to Saudi Arabia on 6 July and returned to Egypt on 16 July. Her case was not detected by the thermal scanners because, it is thought, she had received medication while in Saudi Arabia that lowered her temperature. Salima's condition got worse when she arrived at her hometown in Menoufiya. She was transferred to a hospital in Gharbiya governorate where doctors tested her for swine flu. "Unfortunately the patient had heart problems which led to swift deterioration. She contracted pneumonia and died two days later," says Shahin. Maged El-Shennawi, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Al-Qasr Al-Aini hospital, warns that patients with swine flu do not respond to regular fever medication and must take anti-virals in addition to reduce temperatures. The victim's husband has accused the Ministry of Health of fabricating details surrounding the death of his wife in order to strengthen its calls to cancel the omra and hajj. "My wife was not infected with swine flu and did not suffer any flu-like symptoms," he said on satellite TV. "They neither took a swab before or after her death." He repeated the allegations during the show Sabahek ya Masr as well as to the local press. A meeting of Arab ministers of health at the WHO headquarters in Cairo yesterday discussed the possibility of canceling the pilgrimage this year to avoid further spread of the virus. Participants also discussed the national, regional and international status of the virus as well as precautionary measures to avoid any health disasters. Health Ministry suggestions to cancel pilgrimage trips have been challenged by Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana and Al-Azhar's Grand Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi. "We warned against the danger of pilgrimage trips but nobody listened to us," says Shahin. The ministry is now warning that the elderly, pregnant women, children and those suffering from chronic diseases should forego the hajj and omra pilgrimages this year. On Monday the health minister declared that 15 new cases have been reported in Egypt. They include 11 Egyptians -- two coming from Saudi Arabia after performing omra, two from England, two from the US and three related to positive cases -- three English people coming from England and a Canadian who flew in from the USA. By press time, the Ministry of Health announced the infection of extra 12 cases, thus bringing the overall number of swine flu cases in the country to 157. Shahin pointed out that 107 cases have been discharged from the hospital while the remaining 49 are still under medical care. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the virus is moving around the globe with unprecedented speed and that more than 700 people have died since its outbreak last April. According to the press release issued by the WHO, the organisation will no longer keep a global tally of flu cases though it will continue to track the pandemic in the newly- infected territories.
