Doctors also caution against hand-shaking or exposure to sudden drops in air temperature.
As for the Ministry of Health, vaccination is recommended as the magic solution. Health Minister Ismail Sallam has announced that vaccines are available in many hospitals and public clinics as well as the Egyptian Organisation for Biological Products and Vaccines. On the other hand, the Ministry of Health has denied that there is a flu outbreak in this country, contending that the average winter temperature is too high to be conducive to an epidemic. Dr Mohamed Abadi, head of the Egyptian Organisation for Biological Products and Vaccines, told Al-Ahram Weekly that more than 50,000 people have already been vaccinated against the flu. He believes that vaccination is the best protection, with effectiveness ranging between 70 and 90 per cent throughout a whole year.