December 3, 2024

Belgavi, Karnataka, India battles third wave of lumpy skin disease

The Belgavi district in Karnataka, India, is confronting another outbreak of lumpy skin disease, with calves the primary victims.

The local animal husbandry department began vaccinating calves to curb the spread.

This marks the third wave of the disease in the district. In the first phase, local cattle were primarily affected, while crossbred cattle bore the brunt in the second. In the current phase, the disease has predominantly targeted calves, especially cow calves. Officials from the animal husbandry department, however, noted a significant reduction in the severity of the disease compared to the first phase.

The disease has been reported in several areas across Belgavi district, with Kittur taluk being one of the worst-hit.

Deputy Director of the animal husbandry department, Rajeev Koler, stated, "We started vaccinating calves from Monday. There are approximately 70,000 calves in the district, and we plan to complete their vaccination within a week. We have received 160,000 doses of the vaccine to cover all calves aged between 4-12 months. Vaccination is unnecessary for calves under four months due to their natural birth immunity."

In addition to this vaccination effort, the department recently concluded a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination drive, vaccinating 125,000 cattle. Now, the focus has shifted to the lumpy skin vaccination drive, which aims to cover 560,000 cattle, including calves, according to Koler.

-      The Times of India