Dairy farmers in Haryana take a hit amid lumpy skin disease outbreak in cattle

GURUGRAM: Dairy farmers in the state have been staring at mounting losses as the outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) has affected around 47,000 cattle and killed 400 animals.

While the NCR districts of Haryana have not been impacted by the disease, farmers in Yamunanagar, Karnal, Ambala, Sirsa, and Hisar were the worst affected. Most said their business had gone down by a third, while some claimed that production had come to a halt as animals had either died or were infected by the virus.
LSD is a viral disease that affects cattle. It causes fever and nodules on the skin, at times leading to death of the animal. But LSD is zoonotic and can't be transmitted to humans.
Dairy farmers said they were not only affected by the death of animals, but also by the lack of demand from residents preferring packaged milk.
Ashish Sansariwal of Yamunanagar said his farm would produce 4.5 quintals of milk daily. But the production has come down to just 1quintal over the past few weeks since three cows died and seven were infected. He fears his income this month will be around Rs 60,000, down from Rs 2.5 lakh usually.
"While my earnings have come down, the input cost has increased manifold as I have to regularly disinfect my farm, arrange for special fodder for the cattle, and shell out money on the treatment and post-infection care of the animals. These losses will roll over to another month at least," Ashish said.
LSD is largely prevalent in cows and calves and very few buffaloes have been infected so far. But it's not just the sale of cow milk that has been affected. Milk from buffaloes and goats are also lying unsold as distribution outlets and agencies have shunned procurement for the time being.
Milk distributors said they had little option as wary consumers had turned towards packaged milk. "We are not just fighting the disease but also a perception battle. People have become wary of loose milk and its byproducts. Even the distributors and agencies have stalled procurement for now. Everyone, it seems, wants packaged milk. So, the big companies are gaining from our losses," pointed out Dalbir Singh, the vice-president of Haryana Dairy Farmers' Association.
Veterinary experts said there was no immediate need to panic. "Yes, the disease is contagious and has a morbidity rate of over 40%. But the mortality rate in Haryana is around 0.6% at the moment," said Dr Gulshan Narang, principal scientist at the department of veterinary pathology at Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences in Hisar.