Egypt doctors disciplined over widely mocked AIDS device

CAIRO – Egypt’s doctors union has referred four members to a disciplinary court for taking part in the army’s development of a widely mocked device said to cure AIDS and hepatitis C.

The military’s engineering wing unveiled the device in 2014, saying it could extract the viruses and turn them into “kofta,” or ground meat. The army’s claims were roundly dismissed by medical professionals.

Egypt’s Doctors’ Association said Monday that the four doctors had promoted the device before conducting the “recognized scientific steps,” causing “intentional harm to millions of Egyptian citizens.”

Hepatitis C is widespread in Egypt, where it kills some 40,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization.