No human infections with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu have been detected in Egypt up till now, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday, quoting an Egyptian commission in charge of combating bird flu.

The commission under Minister of Health Hatem el-Gabali said in a statement that people in close contact with dying or infected fowls are being tested on the spot and all tests had been proven negative.

So far, some 58,000 birds have been culled in two farms in Belbeis, al-Sharqiya governorate in eastern Egypt, said the statement.

After tests on two fowls in two farms in al-Haram and Shabramant in Giza governorate turned out positive, the fowls have been destroyed along with culling 9,000 fowls in the farm, said the statement.

People who had been in contact with the fowls have been examined, the statement added.

Meanwhile, it said that no new infections were detected in the disease-affected spots in the 12 governorates of Cairo, Dakahliya, Beni Sweif, Qena, Beheira, Menufeya, Kafr el-Sheikh, Menya, Damietta, Fayyoum, Sohag and Luxor.

Egypt reported its first case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu on Feb. 17 and the government has since launched an aggressive campaign to bring the spread of the disease under control.

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed over 90 people worldwide since late 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

Most victims were infected after close contact with sick birds.

Source: Xinhua