The European Union (EU), China and some international donor agencies have pledged various assistance to Nigeria following the outbreak of bird flu in some parts of the west African country, Agriculture Minister Alhaji Adamu Bello said on Friday.

Bello disclosed this in the capital Abuja after he met with representatives of some donor agencies to brief them on the outbreak and outlined all the assistance required from them.

The minister said Nigeria required laboratories, vaccines, technical assistance and to share experience with countries that had experienced bird flu outbreak.

"The meeting was very successful and the response was positive," he told the official News Agency of Nigeria.

Adamu said the EU had indicated that Nigeria could draw from its 10 million U.S. dollars emergency fund, while the Chinese government and UN Food and Agriculture Organization pledged adequate technical support.

He said, however, that the money would not be drawn until all the necessary apparatus were put in place.

So far, four farms in the northern state of Kano and Kaduna, and the central state of Plateau, have been closed after the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found there.

Story culled from Xinhuanet