RAJKOT: Thousands of cows in Saurashtra and Kutch have been infected by lumpy skin disease, a vector-borne disease that has been reported for the first time in Gujarat.
Kutch is the most affected followed by Jamnagar Devbhumi Dwarka and Porbandar districts and rough estimates suggest that around 27,000 cows have been infected in Kutch alone over the last one-and-a-half month.
While there are no official death figures, Ghanshyam Thakker, president of Bhuj municipality said they are disposing 70-80 bodies of cows daily. The disease was first reported in Lakhpat and spread to other talukas. When contacted, Bhavya Varma, district development officer of Kutch said, "We have expedited vaccinating the animals with goat pox vaccine with three times the quantity of vial. We have targeted vaccination of 50,000 animals and purchased doses worth Rs 10 lakh from the fund of district panchayat."
Anil Virani, deputy director of animal husbandry, Jamnagar said "This disease has been reported for the first time in Gujarat. The mortality is less than 4% but deaths increase in weak animals ."
Nehal Karavadra in Porbandar whose organization is helping the animal husbandry department in vaccinating cows said, "The mortality has increased in the last week. We have vaccinated stray cattle but in the case of domestic animals, owners are resisting."
This disease was first reported in India in 2019 and is rapidly spreading in various states and infecting milch cattle. The disease is caused by a virus like goat pox and it's transmitted by insects. Insects breed a lot in monsoon and their bites infect the animals.
