Over 1100 cows died of ‘Lumpy Skin” disease, a serious kind of viral contagious infection in cattle, in parts of Rajasthan as the infection spread in 10 border districts afflicting thousands of more bovine, especially cows in the last 3-4 months, a state animal husbandry official said here on Sunday.
The veterinary experts of the state Animal Husbandry in every district and the Central government’s animal husbandry vets are on their toes to control the disease by keeping the healthy cattle away from the infectious in all major districts of Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh (close to the Haryana border), Bikaner, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhilwara, Jalore, Sanchore, Sirohi, Ajmer. A few experts of the Central team have visited along and assured all possible help and treatment.
After the onset of SW Monsoonal rains causing high humidity, the outbreak of ‘unknown virus’ (Lumpy Skin) is spreading very fast and getting common in cows (both domestic and wild) with clinical signs of fever, lacrimation, hypersalivation, and characteristic skin eruptions, Dr. N M Singh, Additional Director of the state animal husbandry department (Health) told SNS when contacted.
“The disease has killed so far over 1100 cows in last 3-4 months, and the death rate due to this very virus which has no direct cure is about 1 to 3 percent”, Dr Singh said, adding the veterinary experts have been working day and night to contain the escalation of disease at least in other bovines by administering medicines based on clinical symptoms and as a precaution”.
The main problem of disease spread is occurring in Gaushalas where herds of animals live together and the chances of infection of the virus are rampant due to house flies and mosquitoes which are commonly present in the rainy season and work as spreaders, he said, adding “Our aim is to save buffaloes from this disease too”.
“So far there is no vaccine available in the country to treat this dangerous disease, and there is one vaccine named ‘goat pox’, that might be useful for lumpy skin virus if tried in a proper manner. The Central government could consider it first”, he said, adding each district veterinary office has given a sufficient grant up to Rs.5 lakh to meet any exigency on this account.
Narayan Singh Dewal, a BJP MLA from Jalore, told SNS that over 400 cows have died in Jalore district and adjoining Sanchore in the last 4-5 days due to this virus. Dewal who has written a letter to the Rajasthan Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Lalchand Kataria on July 29 has urged that the treatment should be taken up on war footing as the disease was getting very virulent in villages where the primary health care for animals was not available yet.
Dewal, who has extensively traveled in villages, said the worst affected Goshala was “Pathmeda Gaushala” and ‘Nandi Shala’ where hundreds of cows were afflicted and in a serious state like unconscious with bulging in their skins.
Meanwhile, on the request of RLP MP Hanuman Beniwal from Nagaur, Union Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan took cognizance saying that on Tuesday Experts and officials of the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases and Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying will reach Rajasthan and assess the disease spread in cows and a solution will be found to ensure that there is no harm to animals and farmers.