Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that the second phase covers 11 governorates: Cairo, Suez, Kafr al-Sheikh, Menoufia, Ismailia, Beni Suef, Sohag, Aswan, Red Sea, North Sinai and Luxor. He added that the total number of citizens targeted by the screening at this stage are more than 20 million, and that the second phase will continue until the end of next February. The screening campaign for Hepatitis C started earlier this year, targeting people aged 19 to 59 who will be scanned through PCR tests. The Tahya Masr Fund (Long Live Egypt) announced in an August statement that the Hepatitis C virus in Egypt will be completely eradicated by 2020, through one of the largest medical examinations in human history. Egypt has the highest rate of Hepatitis C in the world, first surfacing in the 1950s due to unsterilized injections.

Source: Egypt Independent December 01, 2018 10:52 UTC