CAIRO
Some 586 residents of Egypt's Nile Delta province of Sharqiya were admitted to hospitals on Friday after suffering what their relatives suspect was poisoning induced by tainted tap water.
Health Ministry official Sherif Makin said the victims were being treated at four state-run hospitals in the province.
He said the number of cases had risen to 586 from 379 registered earlier in the day, adding that all cases had been treated except for 21 patients who still remain hospitalized.
Relatives said the victims had vomited and experienced diarrhea, most likely caused by tainted tap water.
Mosque preachers in Sharqiya's Ibrahimia city, meanwhile, used loudspeakers to warn residents against drinking tap water.
The government said earlier that tap water samples collected from the area had been shown to have nothing to do with the rash of illnesses.
"We are investigating the reasons for the illnesses," Sedik Muselhi, head of Ibrahimia's city council, told the press.
Egypt's water and drainage networks are poorly maintained.
Recent months have seen mounting complaints about water contamination across the country.
