KUWAIT: Health Ministry Undersecretary Dr Mustafa Redha denied press reports published today of hundreds of cases of scabies in Kuwaiti hospitals. The reported 200 scabies patients in Adan Hospital and 70 in Jahra Hospital "is totally false", Redha told KUNA late yesterday. He however confirmed that cases of scabies in Kuwait "did not exceed their normal rate".

Redha also assured Kuwait has enough scabies medicine in storage. "The ministry is following the developments related to infectious and communicable diseases in the area very closely, and takes into consideration the availability of necessary vaccinations," he said. Ministry officials will hold a news conference at Adan Hospital today morning.

Notably, Saudi media reported that cases of scabies among students in Makkah have reached 2,762, according to health officials in the holy city. They said 2,156 cases were discovered in schools while 506 were detected in homes. The officials said as many as 77 medical teams are fighting the disease to prevent it from spreading to other areas. A number of schools in Makkah have remained closed since the scabies was first detected on March 25. - Agencies