NEW DELHI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The H5N1 bird flu has spread to Indian eastern state West Bengal since its outbreak in neighboring state Assam last month, according to the Indo-Asian News Service Tuesday.

    The West Bengal government has said strains of the dreaded avian flu virus were detected by the national High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in blood samples collected from two dead poultry birds in Malda district, the report said.

    A ban on the inflow of poultry from West Bengal was imposed Tuesday by other states following the confirmation of the disease.

    The northeastern Indian state of Assam sounded a health alert after over 300 poultry birds died of the bird flu virus late last month. More than 250,000 poultry has been culled in the past two weeks in Assam.