The Ministry of Health announced in a statement on Sunday that H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, has killed 38 people, while 318 have been hospitalized with the virus since December 2013.
The blood samples of all the cases that have been diagnosed with the virus are being analyzed immediately in the ministry’s and the World Health Organization’s laboratories, read the statement.
80 percent of the deaths held one or more of the disease’s risk factors, said the statement.
The statement said that children under two years old, pregnant women, elderly people over 65, patients of respiratory diseases, severe obesity and diabetics are particularly vulnerable.
The statement also encouraged those suffering from flu symptoms to seek an immediate medical attention within 48 hours.
The current upsurge of swine flu cases and the recent death of at least four doctors have been the subject of significant tensions between the Ministry of Health and the Doctors’ Syndicate.
The ministry had previously issued various statements indicating that the upsurge does not represent a crisis at the current point, and that swine flu has become a seasonal flu in Egypt.
Further, doctors from the syndicate have stated that the strain of flu that has killed the doctors may not be H1N1, but rather a different strain of the flu.
Originally published in Youm7.