Lumpy skin disease spreads to 17 districts of Gujarat, over 1,200 cattle dead so far; govt in tizzy

According to the government, a committee will be formed in each of the affected district under the chairmanship of the collectors to control and monitor the disease

More than 1,200 cattle have died of lumpy skin disease in 17 out of the total 33 districts of Gujarat so far, and the state government has intensified survey, treatment as well as vaccination, while also banning animal fairs, officials said on Sunday.

State Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Raghavji Patel said more than 1,240 cattle had died due to the viral disease till Saturday, and over 5.74 lakh animals have been vaccinated against it. "The viral infection has spread to 17 out of 33 districts in the state, and most of them are in the Saurashtra region," he said.

The affected districts include Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Porbandar, Morbi, Surendranagar, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Banaskantha, Patan, Surat, Aravalli and Panchmahal, he said. In a bid to control the viral spread, the state government has published a notification dated July 26, banning the movement of cattle and fairs, an official release said.

As per a notification issued by the Rajkot district administration, the movement of cattle from other states, districts, talukas and cities has been banned along with cattle trade and fairs, etc. till August 21. The administration has also banned dumping of carcasses in the open, it stated.

As many as 50,328 affected cattle have been treated across 1,746 villages in the affected districts, the minister said. Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress has accused the government of not revealing the exact toll of the disease and demanded compensation to farmers, who have lost their cattle.

According to a government release, a committee will be formed in each of the affected district under the chairmanship of the collectors to control and monitor the disease. Officials of the local administration and chairpersons of the district milk producers' cooperative unions will be part of these committees, it stated. At least 192 veterinary officers and 568 livestock inspectors are involved in carrying out intensive survey, treatment and vaccination work in the affected districts, Patel said.

In addition to this, 298 outsourced veterinarians have been deployed for the purpose along with a mobile veterinary vehicle for every 10 villages, he said. As many as 107 members associated with the state-run veterinary colleges have been deployed in Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Banaskantha districts to carry out treatment and vaccination work on war-footing.

Lumpy skin disease is a viral infection that is spread by mosquitoes, flies, lice, wasps etc. or by direct contact, contaminated food and water. The main symptoms are general fever in animals, discharge from eyes and nose, excess salivation, soft blisters like nodules on the body, reduced milk production, difficulty in eating, which can sometimes lead to death in animals.