CAIRO: The Ministry of Health closed down two clinics in Daqahleya and launched an investigation into the second H1N1 death in Egypt. On Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Health in Daqahleya Abdel Karim Al-Sayed Ali sent six doctors allegedly involved in the death to the prosecution for questioning. "It was reported that the patient went to both clinics and to hospitals as soon as she experienced flu-like symptoms but the doctors failed to diagnose the case correctly, consequently the case deteriorated and resulted in her death, a ministry statement read. According to the statement, officials who will be questioned include the head of Belkes Central hospital in Belkes village, the chairman of the hospital's fever department and his deputy as well as head of the Mansoura Homeyat hospital and his two deputies. The health ministry ordered the closure of two private clinics in the same village, which the H1N1 victim visited for a medical examination. Owned by Khaled Fawzy and Moustafa Al-Shebeeny, the clinics do not to have a valid license to operate. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Health announced the second death of H1N1 flu in a 25-year-old woman, who was declared dead in Al-Sader Hospital in Mansoura, the capital of Daqahleya. She caught the virus from her husband who recently arrived from Saudi Arabia on Aug. 24. The victim was transferred to a hospital but did not respond to treatment. The patient was not suffering from other health problems, according to the ministry's statement. In another statement, Alexandria governor Adel Labib said he formed a special committee comprising doctors and medical school professors from Alexandria University to randomly conduct H1N1 tests on children in sports clubs, gyms and other areas. On Monday, the governor ordered the closure of two international schools after two H1N1 cases appeared in both schools. By press time, the number of H1N1 cases in Egypt reached 809, with 10 new cases reported on Tuesday, according to Amr Kandil, deputy minister of health for precautionary measures. According to Kandil, nine of the 10 cases are Egyptians, three recently arrived from the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Six cases are related to other previously detected cases and the last remaining case is of a Polish tourist who recently arrived to Egypt. The number of recovered cases increased to 732, Kandil said. Moreover, Minister of Education Youssry El-Gamal announced a slight increase in school fees, to be allocated to precautionary measures employed to combat the H1N1 virus. The education ministry's statement indicated that private schools raised this year's fees by almost 30 percent. President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday held a cabinet meeting to discuss ways to combat H1N1, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and bringing together the ministers of Defense, Interior, Environmental Affairs, Social Solidarity, Higher Education and Education, Health, Tourism and Local Development.
