Scores of cattle have died and thousands infected in Jammu and Kashmir due to Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), an infectious viral disease among cattle and it continues to infect more cattle due to which the farmers are very much worried.
Farmers while talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that though the mortality rate of LSD is not so high, but animals infected with this disease are unable to produce enough milk even after they are cured of infection and their economy is getting badly affected.
They said that there are lakhs of families who livelihood is dependent on cattle rearing and other related but this disease has badly effected them.
Muhammad Akbar, a farmer from Pulwama said that they have two cows and both got infected and have recovered as well but they aren’t now giving half of the milk what they were giving before infection.
He said that despite less mortality rate, infection is making cows very weak and then they are unable to produce milk thereby effecting the economy of farmers.
Farmers said that some of them have lost their cattle on which they were dependent and government must look into it and compensate them.
Joint Director Animal Husbandry Kashmir Dr Hussain told KNO that so far 3,174 cases have been reported in Kashmir so far and 1,849 have already recovered while as 1,187 cases are active.
He said that 138 deaths have been reported so far in Kashmir and with 837 cases and 52 deaths Kupwara has got worst effected in Kashmir.
Hussain said that vaccination process is on and so far around 1 lakh and 15,000 vaccines have been given to cattle in different districts of valley.
Meanwhile, officials said that there is neither evidence of the transmission of the disease in humans nor it has any effect on milk. It is a viral disease and after boiling it, it can be used.
Lumpy Skin Disease is a viral skin disease transmitted by vectors affecting cattle and buffaloes only. This disease is not transmitted from animals to humans, they said.
It is a viral disease of cattle and buffalo spread through the bite of mosquitoes or parasites. The disease affects skin of the infected animal through creating large size lesions on the body, they added.
The consumption of animal’s meat or milk does not transmit the infection to humans, they added—(KNO)