Egypt and US signed a memorandum of understanding whereby the latter will give the former $ 24 million in grant to help Egypt fight avian flu.

The grant will be given to Egypt over three years, at $ 8 million each year, Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga said.

Egypt needs more international assistance to be able to continue its fight against the avian flu, Abul-Naga said.

Abul-Naga and Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali told a press conference on Sunday that the $ 95 million aid that Egypt has received from the international community so far only covered a quarter of what it actually needs to fight the potentially fatal H5N1 virus that has devastated its poultry industry and killed 15 persons.

The two ministers, together with the minister of environment and a representative of the minister of agriculture, inked the document for the Egyptian side while US Ambassador to Egypt Ricciardone signed for the US side.

She lauded the US role in helping Egypt fight this virus.

Since the virus was first spotted in Egypt on February 16 of 2006, the government has been exerting every possible efforts to contain it, she said, citing the formation of a national committee for combating bird flu headed by the health minister, and the opening of a unified bank account into which all international aid is deposited.

Several challenges are still facing Egypt in fighting the H5N1 virus, mainly home-raised poultry, as most families are still reluctant to vaccinate the birds they raise, Gabali said.

As for farms, he said the number of bird flu-infected farms have decreased from 900 to less than ten.

He said the government needs $ 350 million in aid to fight this virus while what is available is only $ 95 million, calling for increasing international assistance to Egypt.

About the human cases of avian influenza, he said until now, the world has not found a successful vaccine to treat these cases.

The American Ambassador said the grant is an extension of the continued partnership and cooperation ties between Egypt and the US noting that it comes in support for the Egyptian government's national anti-bird flu plan.

He said the grant is being offered by the US through the USAID.

He promised continued backing by other US bodies - the US Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NMRU_3), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - to the Egyptian government's work to combat the disease.