The Public Prosecution Office in Minya Governorate, Upper Egypt, on Sunday ordered a forensic team to examine the body of one of six siblings total admitted to Deir Mawas Central Hospital with symptoms of “convulsions and impaired consciousness,” according to the initial medical report.
Four of the siblings have passed away, while two survivors remain under treatment at the Poison Control Center in Minya.
Security authorities in Minya received a report from Deir Mawas Central Hospital reporting the arrival of six siblings, aged between 15 and five, suffering from convulsions, high fever, impaired consciousness, and diarrhea.
Three of the children died in the hospital, and three others were transferred to the Poison Control Center in Minya.
One of them, Ahmed, 5, breathed his last during resuscitation attempts on the way to the Poison Control Center.
The police filed a case, and Ahmed’s body was seized at the Poison Control Center pending the Public Prosecution office’s disposal.
The Public Prosecution ordered the forensic medicine department to conduct an autopsy on Ahmed’s body to determine the cause of death, and exhume the bodies of the other three siblings if necessary.
It also ordered the testimony of the two children at the Poison Control Center, and tasked security services with investigating the incident.
Mysterious tragedy
Tension and unease spread across the village of Dalja and neighboring villages following the tragedy.
Villagers participated in the funeral procession of the three children, who were buried in the family cemetery in the Western Desert.
The Health Ministry issued a statement refuting claims that the siblings had died due to meningitis, explaining that there is no medical evidence to support the simultaneous occurrence of deaths due to infectious diseases.
It stressed that non-infectious causes (such as food or chemical poisoning) must first be ruled out before confirming the cause.
The statement explained that in cases of familial meningitis outbreaks, the deaths occur close together (within days), but not all at once. The body’s response to infection varies depending on age, immunity, and viral load, making the simultaneous deaths of four siblings an impossible situation.
Meningitis is a disease resulting from inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meninges), it explained. It may be caused by microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) or non-microbial causes (such as tumors, medications, surgical procedures, or accidents).
The statement said that Egypt has successfully controlled the infectious bacterial type since 1989, with the incidence rate dropping to 0.02 cases per 100,000 people, thanks to surveillance efforts and preventive vaccinations.
The ministry confirmed that no epidemic cases of bacterial types A and C have been detected among school students since 2016, thanks to an effective vaccination strategy.
