A circle of negligence
Two members of the Egyptian squad participating in the recent All Africa Games in Nigeria have died of cerebral malaria, while 24 others have been hospitalised. Inas Mazhar searches for answers
First there was a dispute over the final medal count at the All Africa Games in Nigeria last month. Then things got more serious. As Egyptian officials submitted an official complaint to the International Sports Court in Lausanne regarding what they termed the game's "unfair" results, two members of the Egyptian delegation died of diseases they contracted in Nigeria.
The two men -- 26-year-old chess champion Essam Ahmed and 60-year- old chess federation member Mohamed Labib -- died of cerebral malaria. The disease, which if left untreated will result in death within 24-72 hours, was most likely transferred to the two men via the bite of an infected mosquito.
Mervat Wershana, a radio announcer who accompanied the delegation to Nigeria, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Labib had felt sick on board the plane that brought them back to Egypt. "He felt feverish and asked me if he could use my mobile phone when we landed to contact his family." Doctors at the airport, she said, diagnosed him as only suffering from influenza. Ahmed's case was almost identical, and both were allowed to then continue on to their next event.
Ahmed and Labib went on to take part in the Athens World Chess Championship. In Greece, their misdiagnosed disease turned deadly. Meanwhile, two other members of the delegation were hospitalised in the same city.
Only after Ahmed and Labib died did officials begin to worry that something had gone wrong. They then demanded that the entire delegation -- some 413 athletes, referees, administrators and coaches -- undergo medical tests at the Abbasiya Fever and Tropical Diseases Hospital. Talaat Geneidy, who heads the Youth Ministry's sports sector, said that 24 additional cases of the disease were then diagnosed. Other than the two chess players in Athens, there were "two more chess players, nine handicapped players from different sports, three judo players, three wrestlers, and one individual each from the swimming, boxing, handball, gymnastics and badminton teams," he said.
As the damage is assessed, the finger pointing has also begun. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid has ordered that the entire matter be referred to the prosecution, and that the ministers of youth and health submit reports on the disaster to Justice Minister Farouk Seif El-Nasr.
The results of the prosecutor's investigation are expected to be made public next week.
For its part the Health Ministry said it had provided the delegation with the necessary vaccinations. Health Minister Mohamed Awad Tageddin said that prior to the delegation's trip, every member was vaccinated against yellow fever and meningitis. They were also given anti-malaria tablets. The minister, however, pointed out that other, more malignant forms of malaria required additional tablets that the atheletes were not given. According to Health Ministry sources, these tablets cost approximately LE400 each.
The minister also said that anyone who had been diagnosed with the disease would be treated at the hospital, where they would be quarantined until their temperature went back to normal and remained constant for at least 48 hours.
The National Olympic Committee (NOC) -- a Youth Ministry body responsible for sending Egyptian sports delegations abraod -- announced that it had clearly instructed the entire delegation about the importance of being vaccinated before travelling to the Games. There was no follow up, however, by either the NOC or the Health Ministry.
At a press conference on Sunday, Youth Minister Alieddin Hilal emphasised the urgency of discovering exactly who was responsible for the negligence that resulted in the athletes' deaths. "Usually, when our teams participate in championships abroad, and especially in Africa, all precautions are taken. This time, things went wrong and we should find out whose fault it is," Hilal said.
Ebeid, meanwhile, has demanded that in the future, both the youth and health ministers must ensure that the delegations are vaccinated properly. Ebeid also said that Ahmed and Labib's families would be provided with LE50,000 each in compensation.
On the other hand, some of the sick athletes have been complaining that they are being treated at a public hospital with limited facilities, and that not all the players are receiving the same level of treatment and care.
While judo gold medallist Basel El- Gharabawi and his team mate Sayed Abu Midan, a silver medallist, as well as handicapped gold medallist Shabaan Yehia, handball goalkeeper Hamada El-Naquib and weightlifters Mustafa Mahmoud and Osama Abdel-Moneim, are staying in clean, luxurious, air conditioned rooms that include a TV set and a refrigerator, the rest of the delegation is being treated in the hospital's ward 10, where there is a nauseating smell in the air, and many of the windows are broken. Flies and insects abound, and the athletes are glum and depressed.
It turns out that some of the athletes are receiving special treatment because their families are paying extra.
Wrestler and gold medallist Ali Abu Talab expressed his disappointment with the treatment. "We never expected such negligence from officials who only came to see us and pose for pictures. We have done our best to provide as many medals as possible for our country, and look at how we're treated. I've asked to be transferred to the first class ward and am willing to pay, but now they say it's full." Abu Taleb's mother said she will be forcing her son to stop representing his country abroad, if no guarantees are forthcoming that he will be protected from illness and treated properly. "My son was dying and I couldn't contact a single federation or ministry official. They were only here for the first day, when there were journalists and TV cameras. After the officials disappeared, so did the doctors and nurses," she said.
Mahmoud El-Attar, who won a gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games for the handicapped and placed fourth in Nigeria because of a shoulder injury, said that he only discovered that he had malaria by reading the papers. "For days I was told by doctor after doctor that I had a cold."
Many of the athletes in ward 10 were afraid that they had survived the mosquitoes of Nigeria only to be risking their lives in an Egyptian hospital.
