Ilam, July 29:

High alert has been sounded in the areas bordering India after an outbreak of bird flu in chickens in Manipur of India.

“The import of poultry has been banned through the Pashupatinagar checkpoint with effect from today,” chief of the Border Administration Office Lok Bahadur Karki said.

The move came after the news of chickens dying of bird flu in a poultry farm in Chinmerong village of Manipur was published a few days ago.

Monitoring in the areas has been stepped up from today in coordination with local administration, District Police and District Livestock Office, chief district officer of Ilam Ram Prasad Ghimire said.

Also today, the District Livestock Office sent an expert team to Pashupatinagar to monitor the situation.