Around 18.5 lakh cattle have been affected due to Lumpy skin disease so far, this shows how fast this virus is spreading all over the country.
Moreover, the Delhi government has also logged 358 cases of LSD in the last two weeks, most of which are in stray cattle.
An official from the animal husbandry department informed that Delhi has recorded a total of 531 cases, out of which 206 cattle have recovered from it but the number of active cases still stands at 325.
The official said that the government had acquired the necessary vaccines and that a program to immunize animals would shortly begin. "No cases were observed in buffalo; all cases were found in cows, predominantly strays. To stop the disease from spreading, over 25,000 doses of the goat pox vaccine have been purchased. In a few days, the vaccination campaign will begin," according to a senior official from the animal husbandry department.
The number of cattle in Delhi is 80,000. According to the official, the government would use the ring vaccination approach, in which healthy cattle would be vaccinated within a 5 km radius of the affected areas. The Southwest district is where the majority of cases have been found. Cows can resume production after healing in 3 to 4 weeks.
Delhi government has urged people to use the helpline number 8287848586 to notify them if they notice any diseased livestock. According to an official, the main symptoms include boils all over the body, high fever, decreased milk production, loss of appetite, increased nasal discharge, and watery eyes.
To handle the crisis, the Delhi government has sent out 11 fast response teams as well as four mobile recovery clinics. In Southwest district's Rewla Khanpur Gau Sadan, an isolation ward with a capacity for 4,500 cattle has been created.
