Fears of a deadly virus that can be transmitted by mobile phone have swept the Afghani capital of Kabul, prompting the government to step in and reassure the public.

Reports from inside the city suggest that mobile phone users are fearful that a biological virus is spreading via mobile phone calls. Rumours claim that several people have already died.

"Don't answer any strange number because it contains a virus that will kill you," Ahmad Fawad, a shop owner in Kabul, told Reuters.

The rumours have prompted officials from the Afghan Interior, Communications and Health ministries to go on television and appeal for calm, as well as trying to educate people on the impossibility of such a story.

The stories appear to have come from Pakistan, where similar rumours began spreading last week.