CAIRO: The condition of world renowned Egyptian writer and Nobel literature prize laureate Nagib Mahfouz has worsened again and he is now on an artificial respirator, the official daily Al-Ahram said Wednesday. Al-Ahram reported the news in its Thursday edition along with several articles on the 94-year-old writer and a chronology of his life. It quoted Hossam Mowafi, chief doctor at Cairo s Police Hospital, as saying that after briefly responding to treatment last week, Mahfouz suffered a serious hemorrhage of the colon, and had required a blood transfusion. He is in a very critical state. It s in God s hands now, said Mowafi, Mahfouz has been treated since July 16 for kidney problems, pneumonia and other ailments relating to his age, according to medical sources. On Aug. 14 Mahfuz, who is diabetic, was moved to an intensive care unit with doctors describing his condition as critical but stable. Born in Cairo in December 1911, Mahfuz is Egypt s most celebrated intellectual with about 40 novels to his name. In 1988, he became the first Arab writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, notably for the universal character of his art, which was considered a metaphor for relations between people in communities worldwide. Agencies
