Health Ministry denies epidemic in Delga village

Residents of Delga in Minya continue to voice concerns over the number of villagers contracting virus-like symptoms, as Health Ministry denies epidemic.

The Health Ministry is yet to send a committee to assess the situation in the village or identify the cause of the outbreak.

Osama Makram al-Farra, a resident of the village who is running for the upcoming parliamentary elections, told Mada Masr that the unidentified illness began spreading during Eid al-Adha last month. Symptoms include a high fever, low blood pressure, joint pain, headaches and continuous vomiting.

In the absence of an equipped state hospital or clinic in the village, Farra says those affected have sought treatment at local private clinics, which often send them to the fever hospital in Der Mawas, 20 kilometers away.

Abul Makarem Taha, one of four doctors treating the outbreak in the village, told Veto website in a video interview last Tuesday that he has never encountered such a high number of patients with fevers during his 15 years working in the village. Taha said it is likely to be a virus because of the vast spread of the infection.

Despite reports from locals that there have been deaths due to the suspected virus, Taha said patients responded to treatment and recovered within a few days.

The Health Ministry issued a statement last Tuesday asserting that the number of people admitted to the fever hospital in Der Mawas last month is within the normal average, denying the spread of a mysterious epidemic in the area.

Farra said doctors have been characterizing cases differently, including a typhoid diagnosis. He estimates the number of people affected by the disease at around 8000 of the 150 thousand residents of the village.

Lawyer Sayed Marei, who lives in a nearby village, announced on his Facebook page that he filed a report with the prosecution on Sunday against the health minister and other health officials, accusing them of negligence and demanding that they take the necessary measures to identify the illness and enact the appropriate measures.

Deputy of the Health Ministry in Minya, Omneya Ragab, said during a phone interview on OnTV Saturday, that a committee would be formed to assess the cases in Delga and ensure the safety of citizens in the area.