Valletta  - The Catholic Church in Malta is to tell the faithful to receive Holy Communion by hand only after an outbreak of swine flu on the Mediterranean island.

The directive is to be read during all Masses Saturday evening in the predominantly Catholic island of 400,000.

The decision follows similar actions taken in other dioceses where swine flu has broken out. A total of 16 cases of swine flu have been reported in Malta since Tuesday. (dpa)