Cabinet Spokesman Magdi Radi announced Wednesday that 60 per cent of poultry reared domestically has been inoculated, warning that the real danger of bird flu in Egypt lies in keeping the birds inside or near homes, allowing human beings to mix with them.

Radi told Egyptian television that the concerned bodies were intensifying efforts, especially in rural areas, to complete inoculation of the remaining 40 per cent of poultry in the country. He said that 43 bird flu cases were reported since the outbreak of the disease in 2006, with 19 fatalities among them.

Forty of the cases were a result of poultry rearing in or near homes, he said.

Special squads were touring homes to inoculate the birds, said the spokesman expressing surprise at circulated reports about citizens in the rural areas hiding their poultry from these squads.

Radi called for intensification of an awareness campaign to explain to people the dangers of getting in close contact with the birds.

Referring to pig farms, the spokesman said there were three pockets of these farms in Cairo, Giza and Qaliubiya and that arrangements will be made to remove them away from habitation centres and develop them health-wise.

He added, that people do not respect instructions from the authorities.