Shortage of vets, antibiotics hits LSD treatment
Bhanu P Lohumi
Shimla, August 30
The shortage of veterinary doctors and pharmacists and antibiotics and unavailability of vehicles for the field staff are hindering the treatment of cattle afflicted with lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Himachal. As many as 1,157 animals have died of the disease so far while 36,760 animals are still sick. There are 24,292 active LSD cases at present.
Vaccination and treatment teams are segregated. However, the shortage of field staff, including veterinary officers (doctors), pharmacists and helpers, and the non-availability of vehicles are major hindrances. Veterinary doctors are catering to sick cattle up to 20 km and visiting a large number of animals, says Kuldeep Tanwar, president of the Himachal Kisan Sabha. At present, about 120 posts of veterinary officer and 516 pharmacist are lying vacant.
He says that the Kisan Sabha appreciates the work of veterinarians, who are using their own resources to reach out to sick animals. He adds that veterinary students be roped in on payment of an honorarium to vaccinate the sick cattle and a mechanism for pooling vehicles from various departments for veterinary officers be put in place.
The non-availability of antibiotics is another issue. Multiple drugs and injections are required for the treatment of animals suffering from the LSD and antibiotics are out of stock in Shimla, says Devi Saran, a resident of Shadi village in Junga area. She adds, “I have place an order for antibiotics at Chandigarh but not all farmers are affluent to get these from outside Himachal.”
Dairy farmers dependent on the sale of milk are the worst-hit, as people are avoiding them thinking that the LSD can be infectious. The government has announced compensation but confusion prevails regarding the guidelines and rules for getting compensation, says a farmer.
The disease affects mainly the legs of cattle, which get swollen, followed by high fever. Soft blister-like nodules appear all over the body and gradually the cattle suffer from running nose and eyes, reducing their appetite and production. The disease transmits rapidly among cattle through flies, mosquitoes and ticks from 3 km to 5 km. Exotic and high breed animals are more prone to the disease, say experts.
Pradeep Sharma, Director, Animal Husbandry, says that 143 pharmacists have been appointed and 364 more pharmacists and 60 veterinary doctors will be appointed within a fortnight. As many as 56 more staff will be recruited through the state Subordinate Selection Board, besides 44 mobile ambulance units for 44 blocks will be bought soon, he adds.
The first LSD case was reported at Cheali village in Malyana panchayat of Shimla on June 22.
The animal was brought from Punjab. Besides Shimla, the disease has spread to Solan, Sirmaur, Una, Kangra, Bilaspur, Mandi, Hamirpur and Chamba districts.
