State reports 6 cases of foot and mouth disease

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 4

Despite the state government spending crores to prevent the foot and mouth disease (FMD) every year, the outbreak in the state has exposed the efficacy of the vaccination programme.

After six cases were reported from three different districts last month, the Department of Animal Husbandry had sent the samples to the International Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease (ICFMD), Bhubaneswar, for final confirmation.

Now, the reports received from Bhubaneswar have confirmed that the findings of the Regional Disease Diagnostic Lab, Jalandhar, were correct.

As per the standard operating procedure, the state government has to notify the FMD outbreak and it can lead to ban on holding any kind of cattle fairs, livestock championship, meat export etc. However, the state government did not notify the disease on the ground that the outbreak was not widespread and the cases were sporadic.

With the outbreak of the disease, the state government’s entire vaccination programme has now come under scanner. The department claims to administer 72 lakh doses of anti-FMD vaccination after every six months, as it is one of the most contagious livestock diseases and endemic in many areas of the world. The annual expenditure on the vaccination is Rs12 crore.

Livestock c’ship postponed

The state government had to postpone the 11th National Livestock Championship for indefinite period after six suspected cases were reported last month.