Lumpy skin disease in cattle spreading fast

Mohan is in his early 30s. He along with another grazes over 100 cows in the open fields of the tanda in the outskirts. But, life is not normal any more due to a sudden spurt of disease in his cattle.

Some of his animals are suffering from lumpy skin disease (LSD) for several days. In this, large sized lymph nodes form in the body of the animal with fever and when it breaks open, it can spread to other animals.

He owns about 30 animals and he claimed that more than 45 animals of the lot are affected by this skin disease. One such cow had to be kept in the open field for about 15 days before recovery. The cattle owners are forced to shell out more than ₹500 for each animal to get the required medicine from Hyderabad. Some of them had to consult veterinarians too.

One Shafi from Enkepally in Sadashivapet mandal said that about 20 of his cattle have been suffering from LSD and no government doctor had visited the village so far despite complaints. He said that some of the animals are even unable to walk.

LSD has been fast spreading in the district and officials are visiting villages to create awareness among farmers. Farmers are advised to keep animals suffering from LSD in isolation as the virus may be spread by flies and mosquitoes.

Presently, officials are administering goat pox vaccine to affected animals. It was estimated that about 2% of cattle in the district might have been infected with the virus. However, no casualties were reported so far.