6,135 cattle in 482 villages in grip of lumpy skin disease, House told

Haryana animal husbandry and dairying minister JP Dalal said on Tuesday in the Vidhan Sabha that 6,135 cattle in 482 villages are in the grip of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in the state.

While the disease has killed 23 cattle (19 in Sirsa), at least 161 samples have been collected for diagnosis from Sirsa, Yamunanagar, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Kurukshetra and Palwal, the minister said in response to a calling attention notice of Congress legislator Amit Sihag.

The Haryana Livestock Development Board has administered 5,000 doses of goat pox vaccine in Hisar and to prevent LSD, 5 lakh doses of goat pox vaccine have been airlifted, he said.

He added that there is no vaccine available for the prevention of this disease, but the National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE), Hisar, has prepared a vaccine for this disease. However, the Government of India has not approved it yet.

He said about 400 animals in 33 gaushalas of Sirsa district were found affected by the LSD and that 11 animals had died in these gaushalas.

The largest (4,705) number of suspected LSD cases were detected in Yamunanagar, followed by 825 in Sirsa and 283 in Ambala.

The number of confirmed cases of LSD is yet to be confirmed by the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal. The last outbreak of LSD was reported at Lala Lajpat Rai University, Hisar, in September 2021, where 60 animals were suspected to have spread this disease. After sampling, LSD was confirmed in 12 animals, of which one died.

Dalal said 5 lakh vaccines have been ordered for the prevention of LSD in animals and the vaccine will arrive by Tuesday evening.

LSD is a viral disease and the virus belongs to the pox family. It is African in origin and prevalent in most African countries. Since 2012, it has spread rapidly through the Middle East, South East, Europe, Russia, and Kazakhstan. The recent outbreak reported are from Bangladesh (2019), China (2019), Bhutan (2020), Nepal (2020) and India (August 2021). During the current year, the major affected states are Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab. In Haryana, the disease is at its initial stage and control and containment measures are being taken by the animal husbandry and dairying department, said Dalal.

The minister said various steps were taken for the prevention, control and containment of LSD.