Bangladesh has announced red alert along its 4,000 km frontier with India as the avian flu has spread in the neighboring India and banned import of poultry chicks and poultry goods from six more countries, officials said on Wednesday.

"Bangladeshi government was concerned with the spread of bird flu in India," an official in the Home Ministry said preferring anonymity.

"In such a situation the government has announced red alert in all the transit points between Bangladesh and India so that no poultry or poultry goods could make their way to Bangladesh from India. The border guards have been asked to be maximum alert about entry of poultry and poultry goods from India," the official said.

Import of poultry and poultry goods from India was banned in August 2004, but poultry and poultry goods made their way from India through illegal ways despite the import ban, an official of the poultry directorate said.

The government after reviewing the latest situation of bird flu took the decision to ban import of poultry from six more countries like France, Germany, Slovenia, Iraq, Iran and Azerbaijan, raising the number of countries banned to 25, the official said.

He said import of poultry and poultry products were banned earlier from 19 Asian and European countries.

Media reports said eight persons were affected by the virus H5N1 in India's Maharastra state alone since Feb. 18 Reports said about 1 million poultry birds were killed in Maharastra during the last two days.

The official said Bangladesh was still free from the virus and so far there was no incidence of bird flu in the country. "But after the outbreak of the disease in neighboring India, we had to take various steps to prevent its entry in our country," he said.

"We have sealed our border with India and the border guards BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) have been asked to ensure that and the BDR have taken steps to that effect," the official said.

In Bangladesh, about 2 million people are involved with the poultry and poultry products valued at about 750 million U.S. dollars annually.

Source: Xinhua