Over 1.55 lakh cattle have died in the country this year so far due to lumpy skin disease (LSD), the government informed the Rajya Sabha.
"As per the latest 20th Livestock census, the cattle population in the country is approximately 19.34 crores," Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Cattle deaths due to lumpy skin disease in the country during the year 2022 stands at 1,55,366.
As per the data, Rajasthan saw the most cattle deaths at 75,819, followed by Maharashtra (24,430), Punjab (17,932), Karnataka (12,244), Himachal Pradesh (10,681), Gujarat (6,193), Haryana (2,937) and Jammu & Kashmir (2,698).
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As gathered from the states/UTs, the number of cases and vaccinations done during 2022 stood at 29,45,863 and 6,28,84,366, respectively.
About Lumpy Skin Disease
"Lumpy Skin Disease was reported initially from Odisha in September, 2019," Rupala added.
LSD is a contagious viral disease that affects cattle and causes fever and nodules on the skin. It can also lead to death, with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) highlighting a 10% mortality rate among cattle affected by LSD.
The disease was first identified in Zambia in 1929. It is a vector-borne disease that primarily spreads between animals by biting insects, such as mosquitoes and biting flies. Having infected animals in close proximity to healthy ones aggravates disease spread.
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Vaccination for LSD is covered under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme of India. While preventive care and symptom specific antibiotics are available, no specific antiviral drugs are presently available to cure the illness.
(With inputs from PTI)
