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1,284 cattle infected with lumpy skin disease since July in Pune district
At least 35 animals have died in the district so far, said officials of state animal husbandry department
Despite mass immunisation conducted, Pune district has witnessed a rise in lumpy skin disease amongst the cattle population since July-end.
Since July third week, as many as 1,284 cattle have been infected and at least 35 have died in the district so far, said officials of state animal husbandry department.
Out of these cases, three deaths and 30 cases have been reported in the Charoli, Moshi, Chikhali and Nigdi areas of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has appointed squads for the immunisation and treatment of cattle in their jurisdiction.
The rain over the past few weeks has led to an increase in the cases and most of the cases this year are reported in unvaccinated cattle, said officials.
Pune district has a population of 8.46 lakh cattle. Last year the entire eligible cattle population was immunised against the diseases and this year, since July 98 per cent of the cattle population have been vaccinated in the district. However, officials claim the efficacy of the vaccine is around 72% due to which the cattle are likely to get infected again.
Vishnu Garje, district animal husbandry officer, said, the immunisation of the cattle population is conducted across the district. Last year the entire eligible population was covered and this year the immunisation started in July.
“The immunisation doesn’t give any assurance for 100 per cent protection from the infection. The efficacy of the vaccine is around 70 to 72% and due to which the cattle might get infected,” he said.
Lumpy skin disease, a contagious viral infection that affects cattle and causes fever, nodules on the skin, and also leads to death, was first reported in 2019 in Odisha. It is a vector-borne disease that primarily spreads among animals by biting insects, such as mosquitoes and biting flies.
In the state cases have been reported in 249 tehsils of 35 districts. Since April, as many as 42,170 cases have been reported and about 3,503 cattle have died.
The state has a 1.39 crore cattle population and this year 1.32 crore cattle have been vaccinated against the disease. The rain over the past few weeks has led to an increase in infections and most of the cases are reported among unvaccinated cattle, said officials.
Sheetalkumar Mukane, joint commissioner, animal husbandry, said that this year cases have been reported in the cattle which were not unvaccinated last year.
“Pregnant cattle and calves up to four months of age were excluded from the immunisation last year. This year most of the cases are reported in these cattle. We can’t say that this is an outbreak but the spike in cases has been reported,” he said.
“The lumpy skin condition is caused by a vector-transmitted virus of the capripoxvirus genus in the poxviridae family. The disease mainly spreads through blood-feeding vectors like biting flies, ticks and mosquitoes. Rains provide a conducive atmosphere for insect growth. The infection also spreads rapidly with the multiplication of infected vectors during monsoon,” he said.
