Nepal's authorities imposed a ban on importing poultry from India on Monday due mainly to fear of bird flu.

The daily import of poultry and eggs via Sunsari custom office under Sunsari district of eastern Nepal, Devanjang, Ghantabari, Laukahi, Kusaha, Magadhwa and other ports has been banned, the ekantipure.com, a local news portal quoted Border Security Director Rajesh Ghimire

A poultry farm with 25,000 birds reported deaths of 153 birds, confirmed by the Ukrainian State Committee for Veterinary Medicine as bird flu. The H5N1 strain was discovered at the Lobzenko poultry farm located at the Rivne village.

After health authorities had confirmed the presence of Avian flu, the farm was closed, the village sealed and guards were stationed to ensure the area was quarantined. The Ministry banned the export of birds from the region

The eastern state of West Bengal started on Wednesday the culling of almost 400,000 chickens confirmed to carry the bird flu. To prevent the spread of the flu virus, the Indian government ordered its borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal closed to ensure there will be no cross-border transfer of animals and birds.

Pradip Kumar, Secretary for Animal Husbandry, said the bird flu virus was found in two districts of West Bengal, in Birbhum and Dinajpur. He added, medicines are being distributed all over the state, especially in affected areas

China's Ministry of Health has vowed to step up measures to protect public health during the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

Health Minister Chen Zhu said they will strengthen monitoring, emergency response and medical treatment for rabies, bird flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), as well as group poisonings

Scientists at Kansas State University fear that migratory birds from the north will mix in the summer breeding grounds and spread avian flu when they fly south for the winter.

The pathogenic strain of avian influenza - also referred to as H5:N1 - has been reported in Southeast Asia and a handful of European countries, but not in the U.S