Scorpios stung more than 500 people in Aswan governorate in southern Egypt after being pushed into streets and homes by torrential rains. This was reported by the Sada Elbalad website, citing the Egyptian Ministry of Health which, however, denied information, moreover from official sources, about the death of three people poisoned by these dangerous arachnids.
"503 citizens received an antidote in Aswan after being bitten by scorpions who fled their burrows due to torrential rains," said Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egypt's minister of higher education and scientific research but who is the interim Minister of Health.
Earlier an under-secretary of the Egyptian Ministry of Health in Aswan, Ehab Hanafy, said that "3 people were killed and another 450 were injured by scorpion stings due to bad weather and the latest floods that hit Aswan yesterday".
The city yesterday was hit by violent hailstorms, strong winds and rains, the Al Arabiya site points out, recalling that scorpion stings are usually not fatal and typically only cause pain, numbness, tingling and swelling.
However, in severe cases there are difficulty in breathing, muscle twitching, abnormal movements of the neck and eyes, salivation, sweating, nausea, vomiting, hypertension, tachycardia, restlessness or excitability.
However in Aswan, to ensure the safety of students, schools remained closed today despite the start of today's Islamic week.
The minister stressed the availability of a sufficient strategic stockpile of antidotes against scorpion and snake stings in all hospitals and health units across all Egyptian governorates as part of the dicastery's plan to deal with climate fluctuations.