Ecuador had kicked start a prevention program, mainly in the border areas, to avoid a possible spread of H1N1 flu, which has hit neighboring Colombia and Venezuela, Health Minister Carina Vance said Friday.

"The goal is to detect and isolate the citizens coming from Colombia with symptoms of the disease" and establish a sanitary barrier in the border areas to minimize a probable spread of the virus in Ecuador, she told local media.

Vance said no case has been reported in Ecuador so far, and some 3.5 million vaccinations have been used among the most vulnerable population.

There had been "rigorous" check going on in border areas, said Vance, though she admitted it was difficult to keep an absolute control.

In the Ecuadorian city of Tulcan, capital of the northern province of Carchi bordering Colombia, health authorities have installed triage areas to attend to people who show possible symptoms of the disease.

The measures came after reports of three deathes from the flu in the Colombian capital of Bogota and two in the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo.

In Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, 18 cases of the disease have been reported.

The first case of the H1N1 flu, or swine flu, in Ecuador was discovered in May 2009. The disease has since killed at least 14 people and infected some 2,251 people in the country.