'Help us stop bird flu'
2006-05-15 13:00
Djibouti - Djibouti has asked the international community for help in halting the spread of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in its country.
Djibouti confirmed the first human bird flu case in sub-Saharan Africa last week.
Laboratory tests showed a two-year-old girl tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.
Her three sick siblings have also had tests for possible infections, said the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Djibouti health minister Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil said more than $4.4m would be needed to fight the spread of the virus in the Red Sea country of 300 000.
He said the money would be needed to train medical staff, put in surveillance networks and get laboratory equipment and drugs.
"The situation is under control but we are asking for co-operation from partners so that the situation does not worsen," said Miguil on Sunday.
He said the girl, from a poor rural area near Somalia, was in stable condition and her family had undergone blood tests.
According to the WHO, there have been more than 200 bird flu cases in 10 countries - including Djibouti - since late 2003, and 115 deaths.