CAIRO: The Ministry of Health denied news reports claiming one of the patients infected with H1N1 in Egypt had died. On Sunday, an Egyptian doctor, member of the Doctors with No Rights movement, reported that Marco Hanna, a 35-year-old Egyptian-American died of the H1N1 virus on Saturday in the hospital. In an official statement, the ministry denied news of the death, saying that no patient has been admitted under that name of the total 61 cases. "Until now, no one died in Egypt from the H1N1 virus and 36 cases have totally recovered and were discharged, the statement indicated. The Ministry also asked all Egyptians to ignore any statement that is not released by the Ministry of Health, which "is the only official authority. On Monday, the Ministry of Health announced the establishment of four more labs specialized in the H1N1 virus in four governorates; Aswan, Gharbeya, Red Sea and Sharm El-Sheikh The ministry originally had three central labs, where H1N1 tests are conducted in Cairo, Aswan and Minya. According to a press statement by Amr Kandil, deputy ministry of health, the ministry expects the flu's vaccine to be ready by next October. Kandil further explained that people who were already infected are immune from it for at least three to seven years. By press time, the total number of cases reported in Egypt remained at 61. This week, Kuwait reported one more case and Jordan reported three, raising its total to six. In Palestine, the total number of cases reached 22 after the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced seven new cases Sunday morning.
