Lumpy skin disease: Cattle movement curbs to continue for a month, says Maha minister

State animal husbandry minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said a massive vaccination drive is underway against the viral infection.

Restrictions on cattle movement in Maharashtra will continue for one more month in view of the lumpy skin disease even as a massive vaccination drive is underway against the viral infection, state animal husbandry minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said on Thursday.

The Maharashtra government had, in early September, declared the entire state as a "controlled area" restricting movement of cattle and ban on animal fairs. (PTI) (Representational Image)

Speaking to PTI, he said immediate action on the part of the state government and rapid vaccination have kept the deaths to just 2,100 in the state. "We have decided to continue with the ban on the transport of domestic animals and cattle for at least one more month. Vaccination is going on and we are assessing the situation," Vikhe Patil said.

"The extra vials we had procured have already been exhausted. This vaccination drive has helped us keep the deaths to 2,100. Had we not acted immediately, the deaths of cattle could have been in the range of 20,000," he asserted.

The Maharashtra government had, in early September, declared the entire state as a "controlled area" restricting movement of cattle and ban on animal fairs etc. The first case of the ailment in the state was reported from Chinawal village in Jalgaon district's Raver taluka on August 4.

Lumpy skin disease is a viral ailment in cattle transmitted by blood-feeding insects such as certain species of flies, mosquitoes and ticks. It causes fever, nodules on the skin and can cause death, more so if the cattle has not been previously exposed to the virus.