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| Edited By: DNA Web Desk |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Sep 15, 2022, 11:13 PM IST
Following the Covid-19 virus, cattle are now being exposed to a new viral illness. In India, cattle are being affected by an infectious viral ailment called lumpy skin. According to a report from India Today, the virus outbreak has already killed more than 57,000 cattle in India.
Milk collection in Jaipur, Rajasthan, the state most severely affected by the disease, has been severely impacted as a result of the Lumpy skin disease (LSD) taking its toll on the cattle population in several states. As a result, prices of sweets made in the state have increased. Although there hasn't been a disruption in supply yet, the largest milk cooperative in the state, Jaipur Dairy Federation, reports that milk collection is down 15 to 18%.
According to Om Poonia, the chairman of the Jaipur Dairy Federation, daily milk collection has decreased from the regular 14 lakh litres to 12 lakh litres. "Before Lumpy struck, we used to get 14 lakh litres of milk daily at the cooperative, but now it's down to 12 lakh litres. Though there has been no disruption in milk supply, we are worried over animal deaths as the figures in reality are definitely more than what is being stated officially. If this continues, there could be a crisis - worse than what we faced during Covid-19," stated Poonia.
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Supplier Mukesh Kumar Sharma said at Jodhpur sweet shop: "All sweets are made with mawa [dried evaporated milk solids]. With milk supply falling, our production is down to 80 per cent. We have also had to increase the prices of some sweets, especially the milk-based ones, by ₹ 20."
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Bikaner, Professor Satish K. Garg, stated: "Such symptoms have never been present in Lumpy. For the first time, mouth ulcers and fever are being noticed. There is a chance that the virus will change. This is being researched in numerous laboratories."
The current state of affairs alarms Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot because animal husbandry is the state's main source of income. In this dry state, milk is the main source of income for farmers. CM Gehlot has written to the government's headquarters twice in less than a fortnight, requesting that it declare LSD a national tragedy because it has scattered to 13 states.
CM Gehlot emphasised the need for additional aid to combat Lumpy in his letter to PM Narendra Modi. He also requested that Rajasthan be given priority once a vaccine against Lumpy is available. Although there is still no vaccine to prevent the infection, goat pox vaccination has shown to be successful.
Rajasthan currently has 16.22 lakh doses of the goat pox vaccine that have been given to 12.32 lakh animals. But with more than 11 lakh animals infected, livestock is at risk as Lumpy cases are increasing. On the outskirts of Jaipur, farmer Bhodu Ram Raigar claimed he knew nothing about Lumpy and that his cattle were not immunised. Now, it's too late.
