Health Minister: Aswan water is ‘completely safe,’ 5 deaths not linked to stomach flu

CAIRO - 23 September 2024: Minister of Health and Deputy Prime Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar held a press conference Monday to reveal the results of water analysis in Aswan, which was believed to have been the cause of the number of stomach flu cases admitted to hospitals in the Upper Egypt’s city. 

Minister Abdel Ghaffar first clarified that the results conducted by the central laboratory for samples of water from water stations in Aswan showed that water is completely safe for consumption. 

The minister ensured that random samples of drinking water are constantly analyzed across the country, and that Egypt has a system to ensure the safety of every water drop consumed by the citizens. 

As the number of cases hospitalized due to gastroenteritis symptoms rose over the past days, conflicted reports and information was shared on social media regarding the number of those admitted and death cases. 

During the conference, the minister denied the reports published on social media as false, saying that most cases have been discharged from Aswan hospitals, and that there is periodic follow-up of the remaining cases.

“The state does not hide anything in its handling of the reported cases in Aswan,” he said. 

According to his statement, the total number of cases that have visited hospitals suffering from intestinal infections since the emergence of these cases in Aswan is about 480 cases. 

He further explained that there is a different between being admitted to the hospital, and only visited the hospital, where the latter means that the patient went to the hospital or emergency room over complaints with simple symptoms to which they receive treatment. 

“The average daily visit is between 18-19 cases per day in each Aswan governorate. These are very normal rates in light of the incidence of stomach flu,” he added. “All remaining hospitalized cases of intestinal flu are stable, and there are cases that were admitted to the intensive care.”

"The cases that appeared at the beginning had symptoms of vomiting, colic, diarrhea and high temperatures.. the truth is the cases did not start on the 16th of September, but started two or three days before,” Minister Abdel Ghaffar stated, adding that the monitoring devices in the Ministry of Health reported the presence of 8 cases suffering from gastroenteritis in Daraw Hospital and 22 other cases in the Abu Al-Rish area.

Regarding the deaths cases, Minister Abdel Ghaffar said that there are only 5 deaths reported in Aswan hospitals, whose connection to the cases that showed symptoms of gastroenteritis in Aswan Governorate “has not been confirmed.”

“There are no longer cases that require isolation or hospitalization, and this confirms the increased awareness in Aswan Governorate,” he added.