CAIRO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Tuesday confirmed two new human bird flu cases, bringing the number of such cases to 29 in the country, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

    The six-year-old Rehab Mahmoud Helmi and the five-year-old Mahmoud Gomaa Mohamed Hassan were tested positive to the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, Egyptian Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahin said.

    The two cases, from Qena, 450 km south to Cairo and Minya, 220 km south to Cairo, are currently receiving treatment, he said, adding that both of them are in stable condition.

    The latest two human bird flu cases were caused due to direct contact with house poultry, according to Shahin.

    Egypt found the first bird flu case in dead poultry on Feb. 17,2006 and then the fatal disease spread to 20 of the country's 26 governorates.

    The populous Arab country reported first human bird flu case on March 18, 2006. Of the 29 human cases discovered so far, 13 have died.