Sharm el-Sheikh -- According to recent statements by Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali, the anti-flu drug Tamiflu will soon be produced in Egypt, where it will be sold on the retail market for LE75 per package. Raw ingredients of the drug will be obtained from foreign pharmaceutical companies authorized by the World Health Organization, the minister said. El-Gabali also announced that testing for the H1N1 virus at private laboratories, which are subject to regular inspections by the ministry, would cost LE800 each. Low-income citizens, however, will be able to receive free testing at ministry labs where they will also be able to obtain free doses of Tamiflu. The minister went on to warn private labs not to announce positive test results without first sending them to the ministry. At a recent conference in Sharm el-Sheikh devoted to the development of public health services, el-Gabali assured attendees that his ministry's reserve stock of Tamiflu was sufficient to meet future demand. He went on to point out that the spread of the H1N1 virus had stabilized and that the death rate associated with virus in Egypt currently stood at only three per thousand, representing less than one quarter of the global average. To date, only ten Egyptians are reported to have succumbed to the virus. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
