10 cattle dead, farmers fear spread of lumpy virus

ONGOLE: The cattle caretakers and dairy farmers of the western Prakasam district are fearing the spread of the dreadful Lumpy skin disease, as more than 10 cows and oxen died in the region with symptoms similar to that of lumpy skin disease.

However, officials of the animal husbandry department appealed to the public not to worry and stated that ‘Allergic Dermatitis’ is the reason behind ill-health of the cattle. As a precautionary measure, the officials are administering the booster dose of goat pox vaccine in Kanigiri segment recently.

The cattle owners and dairy farmers said that their cattle have developed skin lesions with high fever and the infection has further led to paralysis with bleeding wounds, killing the cattle. Suspecting it to be a lumpy skin disease, the framers are putting all their efforts in containing the disease by isolating them to their sheds.

However, the AH department officials nullified the farmers doubts regarding the ‘Lumpy skin’ disease and they are trying to create awareness among the farmers and cattle caretakers regarding the disease- ‘Allergic Dermatitis’, which has similar symptoms like that of lumpy skin disease and often spreads during the cold weather conditions.

“We have collected and sent the samples of ill-health cattle of the western region of the district and are tested negative for the ‘Lumpy Skin Disease’ (LSD). As there are visible skin lesions in the cattle, the farmers and the owners of the cattle are mistakenly assuming that their cattle are suffering with LSD, but the fact is, all those cattle are suffering with the ‘Allergic Dermatitis’ disease and it is 100 per cent curable with proper medication,” K Baby Rani, Joint Director-(JD-AH) District Veterinary department told TNIE.

Many more cow calves in Kanigiri, Chandra Sekhara (CS) Puram, Hanumantuni(HM) Padu, Pamuru, Veligandla and Darsi mandals are suffering with this disease and the District Veterinary (Animal Husbandry-AH) department officials identified the seriousness and started administering the booster dose of goat pox vaccine in the Kanigiri segment recently.

In this connection, the Kanigiri Municipality authorities conducted a special Vaccination drive for the street cattle recently to safeguard the animals from the disease. The State Veterinary department has sanctioned `12 lakh worth medicines including the skin ointments. “There are around 56,000 cattle in the district. We have completed 100 per cent vaccination of the cattle,” said JD- AH.