Egypt's Cairo International Airport has stepped up surveillance on passengers coming from Asian countries where human cases of bird flu were reported, the official MENA news agency reported on Thursday.

El-Dawahari el-Ashmawi, deputy director of quarantine at the airport, was quoted as saying that doctors have stationed at arrival halls and been closely following up the health condition of all passengers.

The reported symptoms of the avian influenza in humans have ranged from typical influenza-like symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life- threatening complications.

Earlier, Egyptian travellers were advised by the Foreign Ministry to be vigilant after the spread of bird flu in a number of Asian countries and to comply with general guidelines concerning measures to prevent bird flu infection.

Up to now, Egypt is free of bird flu, said the Egyptian Health Ministry.

Experts fear that the highly contagious virus could mutate into a human strain that might cause a worldwide pandemic among human beings.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has so far killed over 70 people since late 2003.

Source: Xinhua