CAIRO, Feb. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The Egyptian government said on Friday that the spread of bird flu had been contained in the country, about one week after Egypt reported its first outbreak.

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

   Cases have been reported in 13 out of the 26 governorates and in the southern tourist city of Luxor, which has a special status.

   During the past days, new cases have been reported in Giza, the sister governorate of the capital Cairo and the northern governorate of Damietta, but the two governorates have already been on the list of infected areas, the government said in a statement.

   Noting that no cases have been reported in the remaining 13 governorates, the Egyptian government said that the spread of the bird flu disease was contained in the country.

    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.

    Scientists fear that H5N1 could mutate into a form capable of passing easily among humans and thus spark a global human flu pandemic killing millions. Enditem