CAIRO: The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday its 19th case of H1N1 flu in a four-year-old American child who lives in Cairo, one day after confirming three new cases the day before. Ministry of Health spokesman Abdel Rahman Shahin said that the three cases include a 45-year-old Columbian women who arrived to Cairo from Frankfurt on June 10 on Lufthanza; a 7-year-old Egyptian child who flew in from the US on BritishAirways on June 7, the brother of the 12th case, the a one-and-a-half-year-old child, son of the infected Egyptian engineer who lives in Alexandria; and an eight-year-old Egyptian-Canadian child, who arrived in Egypt on June 12 via EgyptAir flight number 996. According to Shahin, the three new cases are in stable condition and are receiving treatment along with the eight other ones, while eight cases have totally recovered. Egypt was clear of swine flu until June 1. The Ministry of Health did not decree any stringent regulation to contain the virus, only advising citizens to open windows in public transportation and avoid crowded areas. On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alert level to the maximum stage six, signalling a global pandemic. However, the organization did not stipulate travel restrictions or border closures. According to the WHO's latest update, 74 countries officially reported 29,669 cases of H1N1 flu, including 145 deaths.
