# 8263
Two weeks ago - in Watching Egypt Again . . . - we looked at a series of reports in the Arabic press regarding respiratory outbreaks, including media speculation that either H5N1 or MERS was to blame. Adding to the alarm, there were separate reports of 4 doctors hospitalized with `pneumonia’ or `respiratory illness’ over the previous few weeks, three of whom had supposedly died.
This From Flutrackers.
1) Dr. Ahmed Abdullatif – deceased
2) Dr. Osama (last name assumed to be Rashid) - hospitalized on respirator
Egypt - Doctor, 37, hospitalized suspected novel coronavirus - tests pending - Mansoura, Dakahlia govenorate - January 8
3) Dr. Doaa Ahmed Ismail – deceased
4) Dr. Yasser Barbary – deceased
Very quickly, Egypt’s Ministry of Health issued blanket denials (see MOH Denies H5N1 or Coronavirus Cases In Egypt), yet additional reports have continued to filter in through the media. Official explanations have hinted at either H1N1, or perhaps MRSA pneumonia as being the culprit.
FluTrackers has kept track of these reports on this thread, including a report yesterday that the 2nd doctor in the list above – Dr. Osama Rashid – has recently died, making the 4th physician death in Egypt from pneumonia in a month.
While a machine translation, this morning we have an English language version of the report from the Egypt Independent.
Fourth doctor dies of acute pneumonia in Mansoura
Sun, 02/02/2014 - 16:39
A doctor in Mansour fell victim to respiratory infection at Mansoura University hospital, marking the fourth death among doctors from the same infection in less than one month.
The doctor, called Osama Rashed, was treated for three weeks in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Officials at the doctors syndicate warned against the spread of acute pneumonia, calling on the Health Ministry not to be reluctant toward taking precautionary measures to prevent the disease turn to epidemic.
Around six doctors were reportedly infected in January with the same disease, causing four to die. Two of them were from Qalyoubeya, two were from Daqahliya.
Taher Mokhtar, former member of the syndicate board in Alexandria, said Rashed was infected while performing his duty. In a statement on Sunday, he said the ministry had not yet declared reason of the doctors’ death. He added that the four doctors were below 40 years old. “How many citizens have died of this infection at governmental hospitals so far, while the ministry still has not recognized the situation?” he wondered.
(Continue . . .)
Although it is certainly possible that H1N1 or bacterial pneumonia are behind these deaths – or that multiple etiologies are at play - four young doctors dying from pneumonia in the space of a month is far from normal. In the past few days there have been calls by local doctors for an official investigation by the MOH.
Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
