Delhi starts vaccination drive to curb spread of lumpy skin disease

The Delhi government on Monday started vaccinating healthy cattle to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease which has so far infected 571 animals in the national capital officials saidA total of 275 animals have recovered from the infection in Delhi so far and the number of active cases stands at 296We have procured 25000 doses of goat pox vaccine from Indian Immunologicals Limited and have started vaccinating healthy cattle in Delhi today an official of the animal husbandry department saidThese doses will be administered free of cost It will take around a week to complete the vaccination drive he saidThe government will adopt the ring vaccination strategy in which healthy cattle in a fivekm radius of the affected areas will be inoculated with the Uttarkashi strain of the virus the official saidMost cases of lumpy skin disease have been detected in the southwest Delhi district in the Goyla dairy area Rewla Khanpur area Ghumanhera and NajafgarhNo cattle death has been reported in the capital due to the infection so farAlso Read Madhya Pradesh Drones to keep an eye on power transmission towers from Oct 1The authorities reported 173 cases of the lumpy skin disease in the capital on September 11 The first case was detected at the end of AugustThe Delhi government has deployed four mobile veterinary clinics and set up 11 rapid response teams to collect samples Four teams are creating awareness of the virus among peopleThe city government has also set up a special control room with helpline number 8287848586 for queries related to the diseaseAn isolation ward has been set up in Rewla Khanpur Gau Sadan in southwest Delhi for stray cattle suffering from the lumpy skin disease The cow shelter can accommodate 4500 cattleLumpy skin disease is a contagious viral disease that spreads among cattle through mosquitoes flies lice and wasps by direct contact as also through contaminated food and water It does not transmit from cattle to humansThe symptoms include high fever reduced milk production skin nodules loss of appetite increased nasal discharge and watery eyes among othersAccording to data available with the Union Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying lumpy skin disease has spread across 251 districts in 15 states and affected over 20 lakh cattle till September 23A total of 97435 cattle have died due to the disease as on September 23This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever