World Bulletin / News Desk

A member of an Egyptian research team that has claimed to have developed a machine for treating hepatitis C on Wednesday vowed to provide 10,000 Egyptians with treatment this year.

"The team is preparing to receive patients at various military hospitals starting from the end of this month so they can be treated by the machine," team member Ahmed Moenis told Anadolu Agency by phone.

When the team first announced the existence of the machine in February, reactions ranged from disbelief to satire.

Hepatitis C represents Egypt's most serious health affliction. Millions of Egyptians carry the disease, while available drugs have done little to counteract it.

Since its announcement about the machine, which is said to both detect and cure the disease, the research team has been co-opted by the Egyptian military.

Team members say they have been experimenting with the machine for the last 15 years.

Moenis, a professor at Egypt's Ain Shams University, said that as many as 41,000 patients had so far applied to receive treatment.

He added that it would take the team between 21 and 28 days to treat each patient, noting the team would likely be able to treat 10,000 patients by year's end.

Team members, he said, were not seeking to patent the device.

"The entire world knows we will treat Egyptians with the machine," Moenis said.

From June 26 to 29, team members will take part in an international conference in China devoted to viruses and microbes.

Moenis said team members would deliver a lecture about the new machine at the event, which will be attended by representatives from 140 countries.

"This will be a sort of international recognition of the machine," he asserted.

Other experts, however, concede the machine can detect hepatitis C, but add that patients must be put under close supervision for long periods post-treatment to determine their chances for recovery.

"Patients may recover temporarily," Alaa Ismail, former head of Egypt's state-run National Liver Institute, told AA. "But other disease symptoms could appear later."