The Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday asked scheduled banks to take measures to stop import of poultry and poultry-related products from China.

The BB issued a circular to the banks which are operating authorised dealer branches asking them to take necessary measures in this regard.

The BB circular said the office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports had banned import of poultry products from China on May 29 this year.

An official of office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports told New Age on Tuesday that they had taken the decision to contain a possible spread of a new 
strain of bird flu.

He said that the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports had imposed the ban on poultry imports from China to prevent a pandemic of the H7N9 virus in Bangladesh.

The H7N9 was detected in China in March and the virus has already killed a number of people there, the official said.