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Lumpy skin disease among bovines raging in west U.P., cattle fairs banned
An estimated over 5,000 cattle are affected by the disease in eight districts of the region (Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Bijnor ) and more than 30 animals have died so far.
MEERUT In view of the increasing cases of lumpy skin disease in bovines in this region, the state government has banned all animal fairs (weekly or monthly markets) and transportation of animals from bordering states.
Animals affected by this disease go down with fever and develop rashes on their skin which turn into wounds after some time. Veterinary doctors say that it takes 2 to 3 weeks to recover from the disease.
An estimated over 5,000 cattle are affected by the disease in eight districts of the region (Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Bijnor ) and more than 30 animals have died so far.
Farmers are worried over increasing cases of the disease and accuse the officials of not making enough efforts to check it.
Additional director, animal husbandry, Meerut division, Dr Brajveer Singh said all precautionary measures were being taken to keep a check on the spread of the disease. He said that it was a viral disease and teams had been formed at block level in all districts of the division to brief farmers about taking precautionary measures. “Teams have directed farmers to keep sick animals away from healthy ones and to keep their sheds clean”, said Dr Singh and added that the state government had banned animal trading fairs and transportation of animals from bordering states.
Dr Singh said more than 300 animals were affected by the disease in the division and at least three of them died in Bulandshahr district. He said that mortality rate was low.
Meanwhile, district officials have sent their requirements for vaccines to the state government. “We hope to receive the vaccines soon,” said Dr Singh.
With 66 new cases of the disease reported on Tuesday, the total number of cases in Meerut district rose to 223. Chief veterinary officer in the district Dr Akhilesh Garg claimed that no death from lumpy disease was reported in the district and 40 affected animals had recovered in the past few days.
Veterinary officer in Baghpat Dr Rakesh Chandra said that transportation of animals from bordering Haryana had been stopped and teams in were tracing diseased animals. He said 32 animals in the district were affected by the disease.
At least 6 out of the over 2000 affected animals died in Muzaffarnagar district and 22 out of over 2500 sick animals died in Saharanpur, 4 out of 582 affected animals succumbed in Shamli and over 100 animals got affected by the virus in Nangla and Najibabad areas of Bijnor.
Director of animal husbandry department Dr Indramani Choudhary visited Timarpur village in Bijnor on Tuesday and inspected a few sick animals. He interacted with farmers and advised them to keep affected animals away from healthy ones. He also directed officials to ensure fogging in animal sheds and briefed them about precautionary measures. He then held a meeting with officials of the department to review the situation in the region.
Yogesh Sharma, a farmer and district president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) in Muzaffarnagar, said that the number of sick animals was much higher than the officially reported figures. He accused officials of the animal husbandry department of not making enough efforts to control the disease and said farmers were taking their own measures to protect their animals.
