PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: The dreaded bird flu, also known as the avian flu, has been ruled out as the cause of illness among students and teachers at SM Agama Simpang Lima in Sungai Besar, Selangor, Malaysia.

Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said that the conclusion was drawn based on symptoms and movements of the patients and investigation from the Veterinary Services Department which showed that there had been no bird deaths in the country recently.

He added the students and teachers had not come into contact with any birds.

"Case monitoring which has been done shows that they are recovering and none show the main symptoms of avian flu infection such as difficulty in breathing and not showing response to treatment," he told reporters Thursday.

Dr Ismail said the viral fever was an upper respiratory tract infection. The source of the infection would be known Friday following tests being done at the National Public Health Laboratory in Sungai Buloh.

"The situation is under control and the cases have shown improvement. There are no similar episodes in any other place in Malaysia," he said.

He said a total of 169 students and five teachers from the school had been virally infected and they had shown symptoms of fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat.

The incidents started Jan 24 and there have been no new cases reported since Wednesday.

From the total cases, 21 had been admitted to the Tengku Ampuan Jemaah Hospital in Sabak Bernam where eight have recovered and they have been discharged.

The remaining 13 who are being treated are now recovering and in stable condition, he said.

There have been 148 outpatient cases and only nine students are being observed in the school's dormitory by a medical team consisting of one doctor and four nurses.

He added the team was carrying out active surveillance among the 716 students and teachers.

"The cases under observation showed mild symptoms and did not need admission," he said.

No deaths have been reported and Dr Ismail said no similar cases were reported outside the school compound.