Kolkata, March 18 : Amid the detection of the avian flu (H5N1) virus in neighbouring Jharkhand, the Mamata government has imposed strict protocols in West Bengal for the time being.

As the first step, there is a total ban on chicken imports from Jharkhand to West Bengal.

"To strictly enforce that ban, special checking at the West Bengal- Jharkhand borders is being conducted. All efforts are made so that chicken from Jharkhand cannot reach a single district in West Bengal at any cost till the crisis is over," said an official from the state Animal Husbandry Department.

However, he added, there is no reason to panic in West Bengal.

At the same time, he added special monitoring is being conducted in pockets adjacent to the West Bengal- Bangladesh borders. District-level monitoring teams have been set up in those areas to keep a close watch over the situation.

At the same time, the district-level monitoring teams are also sending regular reports about their findings to the higher authorities.

At the same time, the state Animal Husbandry Department official said, the poultry firms have been asked to strictly abide by the bio-security protocol at their respective units.

Regular and surprise checks are also being conducted at the poultry firms to check whether such protocols are being followed strictly, the official added.

The monitoring process started after identifying epicentres, where the protocols are imposed strictly.

At the same time, awareness campaigns in the districts were also being conducted to make people aware of the avian flu.

Recent findings suggest that children are more prone to get infected with the virus.

/IANS