Lumpy skin disease cases spike in lower Kangra

Rajiv Mahajan

NURPUR, AUGUST 19

With a spurt in lumpy skin disease (LSD) cases in lower hills of Kangra district, panic is brewing among animal rearers. Without vaccination doses, the Animal Husbandry department is also facing a big challenge of containing this contagious disease.

Vaccine delivery likely today

The department has placed an order to procure 26,000 vaccination doses. It is expecting the delivery on August 20, as assured by the supplier. The department initially arranged 2,000 doses in emergency from Una district, where doses were already received. — Sanjiv Dhiman, Dy Director, Animal husbandry dept, Dharamsala

It is learnt that due to the rapid spread of the LSD in some other states, the vaccine is in short supply. Low-lying areas with high temperatures are the worst affected with this disease. Most of the LSD infections have been reported from Indora, Nurpur, Jawali and Dehra subdivisions in Kangra district. The spike in the number of cases has sounded an alarm bell to the Animal Husbandry Department authorities.

Sanjiv Dhiman, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Dharamsala, told The Tribune that the department had reported a total of 1,545 LSD cases in the affected areas till Friday and 116 cases in Nurpur subdivision alone had been reported on Friday. He also confirmed deaths of eight animals due to the LSD infection so far across the district. “The department has placed an order to procure 26,000 vaccination doses to contain the disease but so far, no delivery has been received. The authorities are expecting the delivery on August 20, as assured by the supplier. The department initially arranged 2,000 doses in emergency from Una district, where doses were already received. The same were provided through veterinary hospitals in affected areas of Kangra district,” he said.

The state government issued a notification yesterday to enforce the Prevention and Control of Infectious & Contagious Disease in Animal Act-2009 in Kangra district and designated the Deputy Commissioner to impose animal movement in the controlled area under this Act.

Angrej Singh, a farmer of Opreed village in the Kopra gram panchayat, rued that he had lost his milk-yielding cow worth over Rs 20,000 last week due to the disease. Sham Singh Bhadwal, Harnam Singh, Mast Ram and Lekh Raj, residents of this panchayat, have appealed to the state government to take immediate steps to contain the LSD infection in the area.

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