CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Sunday allocated LE 240 million ($42 million) to the ministries of health and agriculture to help combat bird flu, the official Mena news agency reported yesterday.
The virus has killed 14 people out of 34 cases reported since the disease was first diagnosed in Egypt in February last year.
The funds will go to improve veterinary laboratories, provide the necessary equipment and preparation for immunizing the birds, and for the training of 1,200 veterinary doctors, Ayman Alkaffas, spokesman for the Supreme National Committee to Combat Bird Flu, was reported to have said.
The wrong attitude of people is one of the biggest impediments to combating the spread of the virus in homes, Alkaffas said.
The fact that children are found in the areas where poultry are raised is another reason for the fast spread of the disease, he added.
