Rajasthan govt steps up efforts to control spread of lumpy skin disease

The Rajasthan government is going all out to control the spread of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) caused by a virus in cattle, which has affected 23 of the state’s 33 districts so far.

According to the animal husbandry department, the disease has affected more than 280,000 cattle in these 23 districts. While reports put the death toll due to the disease at nearly 12,800, non-governmental organisations claim the figure is much higher.

The worst-affected district is Sriganganagar with more than 45,000 cases, followed by Barmer with over 37,000 cases. Even Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Nagaur, Churu, Hanumangarh, and Pali districts have reported a large number of cases.

Chief Minister (CM) Ashok Gehlot said the state government was committed to the protection and promotion of livestock and that there would be no shortage of funds for medicines, doctors, and ambulances.

The CM has given approval to fill 500 posts of veterinary doctors and livestock assistants on a temporary basis and has directed officials to complete the process soon. “We are taking all possible efforts to curb the spread of this disease,” the CM said, demanding that the Centre provide special assistance considering LSD as a natural calamity.

The state has also decided to ban animal fairs to curb the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, Animal Husbandry Minister Lal Chand Kataria said medicines were being ensured in affected areas and a team of veterinary doctors had started to treat the infected cattle.

He said infected cattle should be kept separate and special care should be taken in regard to cleanliness and their food.

The Union government on Wednesday launched the indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVacInd to protect livestock from the disease. The vaccine has been developed by the National Equine Research Center, Hisar (Haryana), in collaboration with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar (Bareilly).

Animal husbandry is a major economic activity of the rural people, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan. About 10 per cent of the state’s gross domestic product is contributed by the livestock sector alone.

According to the livestock census 2012, there were 57.73 million livestocks, which include cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, camel, horse, and donkey. Rajasthan has about 7 per cent of the country’s cattle population and contributes over 12.72 per cent of total milk production.