Kharar areas worst hit by lumpy skin disease

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, August 23

As many as 86 head of cattle have perished due to the lumpy skin disease in the district till now. There are 3,197 active cases in the district, while 1,537 head of cattle have recovered from the disease. Besides, 1,611 head of cattle are under observation.

The Animal Husbandry Department has cancelled the leaves of the employees and is keeping an eye on the situation. The rural areas of Kharar are worst affected with two head of cattle dying on Monday. Khijrabad, Balongi and Kharar have reported several cases till now. Doctors said it was advisable to consume milk after boiling it properly.

The fumigation at cow care centres and dairies have increased but the dairy owners feel that the pace of vaccination is a tad slow.

“Most of the times doctors advise us to give nutritious diet to cattle and segregate them from the rest of the animals,” said Baljeet Singh, a Khijrabad resident.

According to officials of the department, the vector-borne disease spreads rapidly in the rainy season and subsides in sunny conditions. “It takes from 10 to 15 days for cattle to recover from the skin disease. The mortality rate in the area is less compared to the other areas of the state. We are keeping a strict vigil over the situation. The disease is likely to subside with the change in weather,” said an official in Mohali.

The number of lumpy skin disease cases has crossed the 1 lakh-mark and around 7,000 head of cattle have died in the state so far.

Now, all 23 districts of the state have been affected by the disease. So far, 1.01 lakh cases have been reported and 6,929 head of cattle have died due to the disease.

‘Disease to subside with change in weather’

“It takes from 10 to 15 days for cattle to recover from the skin disease. The mortality rate in the area is less compared to the other areas of the state. The disease is likely to subside with the change in weather,” said an official.