Six suspected human bird flu cases were found negative for the deadly H5N1 virus yesterday, an Egyptian health ministry official said.

All the six patients who were sent to hospital for showing flu-like symptoms were tested negative for H5N1 virus, said the official.

The six suspected bird flu infectors, aging from three to 40, came from Fayoum, a countryside town located some 85 km south of Cairo.

They were suspected of being infected as they had been in close contact with sick domestic poultry, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

Egyptian government spotted the deadly virus recently in Fayoum, where a 17-year-old girl died from bird flu on Feb. 5.

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

The populous Arab country reported first human bird flu case on March 18 of 2006. Since then, 12 people have died of the fatal virus in Egypt and the other eight have recovered.

According to statistics, Egypt is the fifth most affected country in the world and the worst-hit outside Asia.