18/06/2009
Egyptian Minister of Health Hatim Al Jabali inspected border crossings to Libya on Wednesday (June 17th) to ensure that authorities have taken all necessary measures to prevent bubonic plague from spreading to Egypt, international press reported.
Earlier this week, Libyan authorities asked the World Health Organisation to investigate an outbreak near the Libyan border. "Thirteen cases of the plague have been recorded in a village 30 kilometres away from Tobruk," AFP quoted Libyan Health Minister Mohamad Hijazi as saying on Wednesday. Hijazi said the illness was triggered by rats drawn to cowsheds near homes, but that "a massive campaign to clean up and disinfect the place" was under way.