August 22, 2022

More than 7,000 cattle dead from LSD in eight Indian states

Over 7,300 cattle have died so far due to lumpy skin disease (LSD) in eight Indian states including one union territory.

In response, a vaccination drive has been stepped up to contain the infection, a senior government official said.

According to the official, India saw the first case of LSD in 2019, with the disease initially striking eastern states, particularly, West Bengal and Odisha. This year, the disease has been reported in western and northern states as well as in Andaman Nicobar.

"First, LSD was reported in Gujarat and it has spread to eight states/union territories now," the official told PTI. "Over 1.85 cattle have been affected so far and more than 7,300 cattle have died since the outbreak of the disease in July."

About 74,325 cattle have been affected in Punjab so far, while 58,546 were affected in Gujarat, 43,962 in Rajasthan, 6,385 in Jammu and Kashmir, 1,300 in Uttarakhand, 532 in Himachal Pradesh, and 260 in Andaman Nicobar, he said.

According to official data, 7,300 cattle have died so far, out of which, 3,359 animals died in Punjab, 2,111 in Rajasthan, 1,679 in Gujarat, 62 in Jammu and Kashmir, 38 Himachal Pradesh, 36 in Uttarakhand and 29 in Andaman Nicobar.

There are reports of LSD infection in Haryana as well.

The official added that 'central' teams have been deputed to Punjab and Gujarat to take first hand stock of the LSD outbreak and states have been asked to implement advisories and bio-safety measures, restriction of movement and isolation of infected animals and monitoring of stray animals in addition to the safe disposal of carcasses.

India, the world's largest milk producer, had a cattle population of 192.5 million in 2019, as per the 19th Livestock census.

- The Hindu