The Newz Radar
There appears to be no stopping the outbreak of lumpy skin disease in Himachal Pradesh with the infection already having affected 30,210 animals and 754 dying due to it.
According to the state Animal Husbandry Department, 71,247 animals have been vaccinated so far, though 3,24,350 animals are need of the jab. Only 96,293 doses of the vaccine are available with the department, said officials. At present, 21,619 animals are struggling to cope with the virus.
Lumpy skin disease is an infection that spreads from one infected animal to another healthy animal. It is also called nodular skin disease and affects both foreign and indigenous breeds.
The department has advised that newly purchased animals should be quarantined for at least 28 days before being introduced into the herd or shed.
Insecticides and other hemicals need to be sprayed to check disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes, flies and ticks in livestock.
As the virus is related to the smallpox gene of goat and sheep, vaccination is necessary. The Animal Husbandry Department has been vaccinating animals within a radius of km from the area of infection.
In areas where there is a possibility of the spread of the disease, the presence of the virus can be checked through a test by collecting the samples on a large scale and sending these for testing.
