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States flag fresh lumpy skin disease outbreak
Lumpy skin disease, a viral infection, killed hundreds of thousands of cattle last year
Lumpy skin disease, a viral infection that killed hundreds of thousands of cattle last year, has made a mild comeback in a few states, which reported nearly 10,000 cases over the past few weeks, prompting the Centre to ask states to ramp up vaccination, an official said.
The central government held a review with states last week and animal husbandry authorities said outbreaks were reported from Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Karnataka. The latest wave is milder and less contagious, the person cited above said, adding that central teams have been dispatched to the states.
“Sufficient stocks of vaccines are available in all affected states and the situation was under control,” the official said, seeking anonymity. Uttarakhand, which reported the most cases, has banned the movement of cattle.
A devastating outbreak last year across states hurt the country’s milk output, causing retail prices to jump 15%, the fastest clip in a decade.
States should aim to cover the maximum number of cattle for inoculation before the monsoon rainfall begins for greater efficacy, the Centre said in its review. They have been asked to follow all standard operating procedures, including surveillance and ban on transportation of animals from infective zones.
The recommended vaccines are effective in preventing the spread of disease and the average recovery rate of inoculated animals was 94%, the official said. So far, 90 million cattle have been vaccinated.
The virus responsible for the disease, called capripoxvirus, is spread by blood-feeding insects and mosquitoes, causing thick nodules to form on the skin, with accompanying symptoms such as debilitating fever and lower milk production, especially among cows and buffalos.
The Centre had authorised states to use goat pox vaccine to control the disease. India has sufficient quantities of the Lumpy-ProVax Ind vaccine developed indigenously by the National Equine Research Centre and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute.
These two research institutions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) can produce 250,000 dosages per month, according to BN Tripathi, deputy director general, animal science, ICAR.
