There is growing concern in the rural Egyptian city of Asiuit over a virus outbreak that has claimed the lives of 21 people while 2,000 remain infected.
Local doctors have warned that the virus could spread further, however, the Egyptian Health Ministry has yet to make an official statement addressing the concerns.
Civilians in Dashalout, Nagh Khedr, Sao, Boueit and Abu Karim, along with Abu Al Eiyoon villages said that the people with tuberculosis and the typhoid fever are on the streets, causing more and more people to get infected. There have also been claims that hazardous medical waste such as used syringes, used IV fluids and cannulas have not been properly disposed off.
Despite their growing concerns over this disease that is strongly threatening their lives, doctors in the area have very little to do with the the ministry's intervention. Therefore, residents of these villages took matters onto their own hands, creating a Facebook page called " Wala Tez3al Nafsak " which translates to "Don't Be Upset" and are posting pictures of patients while they were undergoing treatment to spread awareness regarding their unfortunate circumstances.
Furthermore, villagers are threatening to "escalate" their response if officials continue their silence and don't provide them with a proper treatment as well as an explanation of what is causing the disease to spread.
While residents in the infected villages believe the disease is either the typhoid fever or tuberculosis, doctors on the other hand remain unsure.
"We know nothing about this disease, absolutely nothing. It's like the recent bird flu, when it first started, no one knew anything but now we do and we know how to treat it," one doctor said to El Balad news. "We know nothing about this disease and it's spreading quickly."
Nevertheless, health officials in the Asiut are stating that the "rise of temperature" is causing people to get sick and have not yet launched an official investigation to determine the cause of the sudden and widespread illness.