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Egypt turns hospital into quarantine area for possible swine flu cases

CAIRO, May 2 (KUNA) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Health decided Saturday to turn Al-Matar Mental Health Hospital, east Cairo, into a quarantine area for any possible victims of infection with the deadly H1N1 virus.
The hospital, located in Heliopolis district is the closest hospital to Cairo International Airport. It has been provided with the necessary equipment to receive and treat any suspected cases among travelers arriving in Egypt, the ministry said in a press release here.
Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabali is scheduled to pay an inspection tour of the hospital to make sure of the preparedness of the facility for any eventualities, it disclosed.
El-Gabali plans to held a chain of meetings to review the precautionary measures developed by his ministry in coordination with the other state departments in the face of the fatal epidemic also known as swine flu or pig flu.
He will meet Minister of Local Development Abdel Salam al-Mahgoub, Minister of Education Hani Hilal who doubles as Minister of State for Scientific Research to review the preparations for treating any suspected victim of the disease.
Al-Gabali will also take part in the emergency meeting of the Executive Office of the Arab Health Ministers' Council, due in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next week, the statement added.
Meanwhile, Governor of North Sinai Governorate Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Abdulfadhil Shusha said that strict medical and veterinary safeguards have been implemented at all land, sea and air ports of his governorate to ward off the entry of any suspected cases into Egypt.
His remarks coincided with the announcement of three swine flu cases in neighboring Israel.
As part of the precautionary measures, the Egyptian authorities started earlier Saturday culling the nation's estimated 250,000 pigs, the state-run news agency MENA reported. One hundred pigs were slaughtered in Alexandria and another 28,000 pigs have been transported to slaughterhouses in Ard el-Liwa neighborhood, west Cairo, according to the report. (end) bna.gb KUNA 022256 May 09NNNN