MANILA (AP) - New Zealand's prime minister on Thursday pledged US$ 340,000 (euro283,000) to help the Philippines detect and combat bird flu, as she wrapped up a four-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said the money would go to efforts by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the Philippine Department of Agriculture ``to support the Philippine capacity to detect and diagnose outbreaks of avian flu and other avian diseases which may emerge in the future.''
Like the Philippines, New Zealand has yet to report any outbreaks of bird flu.
The deadly H5N1 strain of the disease has killed 98 people in Asia, the Middle East and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
Though human infections have so far been largely traceable to direct contact with sick birds, WHO is worried that the H5N1 strain lethal to humans could mutate into form that easily spreads among people.
The virus has killed or prompted the culling of more than 140 million chickens and ducks across Asia since 2003.
Earlier this week, Clark attended a regional interfaith dialogue for peace and development in central Cebu city, in which she criticized newspapers that published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which ignited violent protests by Muslims around the world.
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