More than 300 cattle have died of lumpy skin disease in Uttarakhand, the government said on Thursday.
A total of 20,505 cases of lumpy skin disease were registered in the state, out of which 8,028 were fully cured and 341 animals died, Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna told reporters. Haridwar and Dehradun are the worst affected districts registering 11,350 and 6,383 lumpy skin disease cases respectively, he said after reviewing the lumpy virus situation in the state.
However, the recovery rate in the disease is 40 percent and death rate only 1.6 percent, he said.
Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease that affects cattle. It is transmitted by blood-feeding insects. It causes fever, nodules on the skin and can also lead to death, especially in animals that have not previously been exposed to the virus.
Control options include vaccinations and culling of infected animals.
“We have 6 lakh anti-lumpy vaccines at present, out of which 5,80,000 have already been distributed in the districts orders have been placed for four lakh more vaccines,” he said.