September 12, 2022

 

More than 57,000 cattle in India have died due to lumpy skin disease

 

 

More than 57,000 cattle in India have died due to lumpy skin disease (LSD) in the past four and a half months as the disease continues to spread in the country, most recently in the capital region of Delhi, Xinhua News reported.

 

Other affected areas include the states of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

 

The western state of Gujara reported the first case in April, where over 4,000 cattle have died to date. Around 27,000 cattle deaths have been reported in Rajasthan, a state adjacent to Gujarat.

 

Several cases have been found in the national capital of Delhi over the last 24 hours, but there haven't been any confirmed deaths yet.

 

Gopal Rai, the environment minister for Delhi, said more than 170 cases have been found among cattle in the south and southwest of the Indian capital. He said symptoms similar to infection with the lumpy virus have been found in Delhi cattle over the last few days.

 

Rai said the Delhi government is acting to stop the spread of the lumpy virus. He also said that in order to stop the spread of infection, the animal husbandry department set up mobile veterinary clinics, a special isolation ward, and a 24-hour emergency helpline.

 

Rai presided over a meeting on Saturday to discuss readiness and the application of steps to stop the spread of the virus. Two mobile veterinary clinics are being sent to the affected areas, and people can also call helplines for treatment of infected cattle.

 

Four teams have been established to raise awareness among farmers and cattle herders, and eleven rapid response teams have been established for the treatment of infected cattle, which will also collect samples.

 

According to experts, LSD is a viral infection that affects cattle and is spread by ticks, flies, and mosquitoes. It results in fever, skin nodules, and can be fatal.

 

The Indian government has asked states to increase vaccination efforts in an effort to stop the viral disease from spreading after taking serious note of the situation's development.

 

The federal government has issued a warning to cattle owners outlining nine essential steps to stop the spread of LSD, including good hygiene, keeping infected cattle inside, using hand sanitizer on caregivers, using insecticides to kill mosquitoes and flies, providing nourishing food to infected, isolated cattle, and burying the dead animals in salt and lime.

 

The indigenous Lumpi-ProVacInd vaccine was introduced a month ago by Federal Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar to protect livestock from LSD. The vaccine is being developed by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, in conjunction with the National Research Center on Equines, located in the northern state of Haryana.

 

India first experienced the LSD outbreak in 2019, and since then, the nation's research institutions have been working to create a vaccine.

 

-      Xinhua News