Following the death of nearly 1,000 cows and buffaloes in Gujarat, the center is surveilling the spread of the lumpy skin disease more closely than ever. The Centre has sent special teams to Gujarat and Rajasthan to take care of the situation and curb the spread of the lumpy skin disease (LSD).
Reports show the spread of the LSD in the cattle of these two states. Talking to the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, it was known that around 33,000 cattle are infected and more than 900 cattle have died in Gujarat itself, not taking Rajasthan into consideration. He also shared that a central team had been positioned in Gujarat to take hold of the spread of the disease.
The minister also talked about steps to curb skin disease in cattle. He said that, currently, cattle are being isolated and vaccination is ongoing with full momentum. Rupala further added that advisories have been issued to all states warning them about LSD.
The Secretary of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary, Atul Chaturvedi said that a set of protocols has been discussed and is in under operation for controlling and preventing the disease in cattle.
Teams that will hold visits from Monday, have been sent to Gujarat and Rajasthan for the control of the disease.
According to the details of the disease, it is a viral disease that is spread by mosquitoes, flies, lice, and wasps by direct contact among the cattle, besides spreading through contaminated food and water.
The symptoms of the disease which are as deadly as taking the life of the animal in some cases, include fever in animals, discharge from the eyes and nose, salivation from the mouth, soft blisters like nodules all over the body, reduced milk production, and difficulty in eating
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is maintaining caution on the status of the disease in many states.
The disease, which is now most prevalent in Gujarat, was originally reported in Odisha in September 2019. After that first reporting, the disease has been seen in 22 states and UTs of Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, NCT-Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Rajasthan and recently in Punjab.
States and diagnostic laboratories have been suggested immediate steps to curb LSD.
The official revealed that directions were issued to ICAR-NIHSAD, Bhopal and ICAR-NIVEDI Bangalore to carry out the epidemiological investigation in the affected states.
The centre is also giving help to the affected states for undertaking training and vaccination as per the demand submitted by the states.
