World Bank project to help Bangladesh fight bird flu

DHAKA, June 4 (Reuters) The World Bank has pledged more than 30 million dollar for a project in Bangladesh to fight bird flu, which has spread to dozens of farms since March, the Bank said in a statement.

There have been no known cases of people in Bangladesh being infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The statement, issued in Dhaka yesterday, said the 37 million dollar Avian Influenza program would run from 2007 to 2012.

Of this, the World Bank would provide 32 million dollar. The Bangladeshi government would also contribute, it said.

The project would help improve human pandemic and avian influenza prevention, including strengthening disease surveillance, diagnostic capacity and improve laboratories, the statement said.

Bird flu has spread to 61 farms in 11 districts, forcing authorities to cull nearly 157,000 chickens and destroy 1.5 million eggs, according to figures from the fisheries and livestock ministry.

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