Tue Jun 9, 7:35 am ET
CAIRO – Five more students at the American University in Cairo have contracted swine flu, said Egypt's health minister, bringing the total number of infected students at the school to seven.
The five cases were discovered when tests were carried out at a dormitory after two students from the U.S. were diagnosed with swine flu, Hatem el-Gabali told reporters Tuesday. He did not disclose the nationalities of the five new cases.
The dorm, which the ministry said houses 234 people including 110 students from 10 different countries, is under quarantine for seven days. AUC officials said Tuesday they were waiting for confirmation of the test results.
Every year hundreds of foreign students take classes at AUC, which has a 5,500 person student body, 81 percent of whom are Egyptian.
The dormitory is located in Zamalek, an upper class neighborhood of Cairo, home to many foreigners and embassies. The university itself recently relocated to the desert outskirts of the capital.
The two swine flu cases were discovered Sunday night after the students exhibited flu-like symptoms and tested positive for the virus. El-Gabali said Monday that they were recovering and would be released from the hospital in 48 hours.
The 23-year-old students who contracted the flu, a male from New Jersey and a female from Florida, arrived from the U.S. on May 28 for a summer program at the university, but didn't exhibit symptoms until Friday.
Travelers arriving in Egypt are photographed, their body temperature scanned and addresses taken down in case follow up is necessary.
Egypt's government has come under criticism from international animal rights groups for its decision to slaughter the nation's 300,000 pigs in response to the swine flu problem.
