Some household poultry in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria have been tested positive for the H5N1 virus, a government statement said Monday.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health sent teams to cull the infected domestic fowls along with veterinary services and Alexandria police, Egypt's official news agency MENA quoted the Health ministry statement as saying.

The medical tests of people who have been in direct contact with the infected poultry are ongoing in the Egyptian Ministry of Health, the statement added.

It also said that there were two suspected human bird flu cases from Cairo and Giza, west of Cairo, admitted to hospitals but tested negative.

Earlier in November, bird flu cases in poultry were reported in the northern Egyptian governorate of al-Menofiya and the southern city of Luxor.

Egypt found the first bird flu case in dead poultry on Feb. 17, and then the virus spread to 20 of the country's 26 governorates. So far seven people have died of the fatal virus in the country.

Source: Xinhua