by Pankaj Yadav
NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (NNN-XINHUA) – More than 57,000 cattle have died in India, over the past four-and-a-half months, due to the lumpy skin disease (LSD), which is continuing to spread in the country.
The affected areas include the capital region of Delhi, and the states of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The first case was reported in Apr, from the state of Gujarat, which saw over 4,000 cattle deaths till date. Gujarat’s neighbouring state Rajasthan, reported around 27,000 cattle deaths.
Over the past 24 hours, several cases have been detected in the national capital, though no deaths have been reported so far from here.
More than 170 cases were detected in the south and south-west of the capital, Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai said. “In the past few days, symptoms similar to infection of lumpy virus have been found in cattle of Delhi,” he told reporters.
According to Rai, the Delhi government is taking measures to control the spread of the virus. The animal husbandry department set up mobile veterinary clinics, special isolation ward and a round-the-clock emergency helpline number, to combat the spread of infection, he added.
On Saturday, Rai chaired a meeting to review preparedness and implementation of measures to arrest the virus’ spread. “So far everything is under control. Two mobile veterinary clinics are being sent to affected areas. People can also contact helpline numbers for treatment of infected cattle,” said the official.
Eleven rapid response teams were formed for the treatment of infected cattle, which collect samples, and four teams for raising awareness among farmers and cattle herders, he added.
Experts say that the LSD is a viral infection that affects cattle, and can be transmitted by flies, mosquitoes and ticks. It causes fever and nodules on the skin and can lead to death.
Taking a serious note of the evolving situation, the Indian government has asked states to boost the vaccination process, in a bid to control the spread of the viral disease.
The federal government has issued an advisory for cattle owners, listing nine key measures to contain the LSD, including proper hygiene, not moving infected cattle outside, hand sanitisation by caretakers, use of disinfectants to kill mosquitoes and flies, nutritious food to infected, isolated cattle, and burying the dead cattle with salt and lime.
A month ago, federal Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, launched the indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVacInd, to protect livestocks from the LSD. The vaccine is developed by the National Research Centre on Equines, in Haryana, in collaboration with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, based in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The outbreak of the LSD was first reported in India in 2019, after which, research institutes in the country had been engaged in developing the vaccine.– NNN-XINHUA
