11.2-lakh cattle across 12 states, UTs in lumpy skin grip: Union minister Sanjeev Balyan
Till August 30 this year, lumpy skin disease (LSD) has affected 11.2 lakh cattle including 49,682 deaths in 165 districts of a dozen states and union territories of the country, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said on Wednesday.
This year LSD cases were reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Goa, Balyan told The Indian Express, Rajasthan, adding Gujarat and Haryana were the most affected states.
Sharing the details of the steps taken to contain the spread of the disease, Balyan said that several states including Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra have been taking steps to check the spread of the disease.
Balyan said around 2.5 million doses of goat pox vaccine are available and manufacturing companies have been asked to ramp up production. Balyan said that as of now, around one crore doses of goat pox vaccine are required, and the central government has floated a tender for procurement of more vaccine doses.
Balyan said Indian Immunological Limited (IIL), a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board, and a private Gujarat-based firm Hester are the two vaccine manufacturers and both have been asked to increase the production of goat vaccine.
Besides, a control room has been set up in the ministry to monitor the situation and the Center is providing all possible help to the states, he said, adding that the disease would be brought under control soon.
Meanwhile, sources in the ministry said that one fresh case has been reported from Andhra Pradesh, while new cases are declining.
Sources said that so far about 68 lakh goat pox vaccines have been given across the country, 50.99 lakh in Gujarat, 5.94 lakh in Punjab, 4.74 lakh in Haryana, and about 3.91 lakh in Rajasthan.
Earlier on August 10, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the indigenous vaccine Lumpi-Provakind to “protect” livestock from lumpy skin disease. The vaccine has been developed by the National Equine Research Centre, Hisar (Haryana) in collaboration with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar (Bareilly).
