Ukraine's epidemic prevention authorities have stepped up monitoring of migratory birds and other birds which are close to humans in order to identify areas where avian flu could break out, the office said.

Ukraine will start to mass produce vaccines for avian flu this year to meet the domestic demand, but it has not yet been decided when to launch the vaccination campaign, it said.

The Agriculture Ministry announced on Friday the imposition of a ban on birds hunting in the eastern and northern parts of the country and the autonomous republic of Crimea,

Local veterinarian authorities have been instructed to do regular tests on migratory birds to check signs of any possible outbreak.

The ministry said no cases of avian flu had been detected in the ex-Soviet republic since the onset of autumn.

The H5 strain of bird flu virus was identified among dead wild birds in several villages in Crimea in December 2005, but Ukraine has so far not yet reported any case of human being infected by the disease.