Swine flu kills 24 across Egypt

Egypt's Health Ministry says 195 people have been hospitalised with swine flu over the past two months and 24 have died.

Egypt's Health Ministry says swine flu has killed 24 people across the country over the past two months.

At a Tuesday news conference, the ministry's head of preventive medicine, Amr Qandeel, said 195 people have been hospitalised with the virus since December 1, 2013.

He added that so far the cases had been spread out through several areas, particularly the Nile Delta and Cairo.

He encouraged those suffering from flu symptoms to seek medical attention early.

The ministry says that children and young adults are particularly vulnerable. Qandeel also says that two doctors had contracted the illness but that no medical personnel were among the dead.

In 2009, the global swine flu pandemic prompted Egyptian authorities to slaughter around 300,000 pigs previously used to dispose of the city's organic garbage.