Shillong, Feb 2: The Meghalaya government has sounded an alert following an outbreak of bird flu in Assam and reported death of migratory birds in Manipur. Officials said here today that the state government has banned the import of poultry and its products to prevent the H5NI virus from spreading further.

Awareness campaign, street plays were also being organised by the veterinary and health departments to sensitize the people, official sources said.

''We have set up check gates on the entry points to the state and along the Indo-Bangla border. The veterinary department has been asked to take all possible preventive measures,'' D Khonglah, a senior officer with Animal and Husbandry Department, told UNI here.

Besides, Dr Khonglah said the government has sent more than 100 blood samples of chickens from across the state to Bhopal and Kolkata for tests.

''We are expecting the laboratory report in a couple of days time,'' he said, adding that adequate precaution was being undertaken.

Last month, a team from the Union Animal Husbandry and Health departments and National Institute of Communicable Disease had assessed the situation following the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

The state government had also constituted a task force to monitor import of poultry into the state by setting up check posts at border.

UNI