S TIWARI
BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that efforts should be made to prevent lumpy virus like Covid control. Gram Sabhas should be organised to create awareness. Arrangements have been made by the state government to vaccinate cattle free of cost. Communication media should be used for public awareness. Work should be done to prevent the spread of the disease by undertaking more and more vaccinations.
Chief Minister Shri Chouhan was reviewing the efforts being made for lumpy disease control in the state at Mantralaya today. CM Shri Chouhan called a special meeting to get information about the efforts to control lumpy disease and gave instructions. Animal Husbandry, Social Justice and Disabled Welfare Minister Shri Prem Singh Patel, Chief Secretary Shri Iqbal Singh Bains, Additional Chief Secretary Animal Husbandry Shri JS Kansotiya and departmental officers were present. More than 2.5 lakh animals have been vaccinated in the state.
Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that an atmosphere of awareness should be created from village to village just as everyone fought together against Covid. To save cattle from this infectious disease, there should be discussions in the gram sabhas. Measures to prevent the disease should be taken along with necessary vigilance at every stage. Do not take lightly the death of animals in small numbers due to the diseases and do not hide the information about the disease. All necessary measures should be implemented through joint efforts.
Toll free number with control room
Chief Minister Shri Chouhan gave detailed instructions to the officers to protect the animals living in gaushalas and other places from diseases. On the instructions of the CM, a State Level Disease Control Room has been set up in Bhopal. It is noteworthy that CM Shri Chouhan had given instructions regarding the control of lumpy virus in the two meetings held earlier. The telephone number of the control room established in Bhopal is 0755-2767583 and the toll free number is 1962. Necessary information and guidance can be obtained by the animal owners by discussing on these numbers.
Chief Minister Shri Chouhan directed that communication media should be used to control the lumpy virus. Sensitize the departmental staff. Give daily report of disease control efforts. CM Shri Chouhan said that emphasis should be laid on vaccination of animals. Work should be done as per the instructions of the Central Government.
Lumpy virus situation in the state
Special vigil is being maintained by the Animal Husbandry Department by issuing alerts for the prevention and control of lumpy disease in the state. Intensive vaccination and treatment of animals is being done in infected areas and districts. If symptoms of lumpy skin disease are seen in animals, people have been told to establish contact with the nearest veterinary dispensary and veterinary hospital. It was told that 7686 animals were affected by the virus in the districts of the state, in which 5432 animals have been cured. So far 101 animals have died. The disease has been confirmed in seven districts of Ratlam, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Betul, Indore and Khandwa. Action has been taken in the affected villages and districts by restricting the movement of animals, sending the samples of the disease immediately to the State Animal Disease Investigation Laboratory, Bhopal and undertaking vaccination within a radius of 5 km from where the outbreak of the disease is confirmed. Arrangements have been made with the Animal Welfare Committee to purchase medicines and vaccines. The staff of Animal Husbandry Department of Alirajpur, Jhabua, Ratlam, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Rajgarh and Burhanpur districts bordering Rajasthan and Gujarat have been instructed to take special vigil. Veterinary assistant surgeons and assistant veterinary field officers posted in the veterinary institutions of the border areas have been given responsibilities. Continuous monitoring is being done. From the month of July, necessary measures are being implemented by holding discussions through webinars, meetings and state level youth dialogues through joint director, deputy director, divisional lab in-charge and experts of animal husbandry department of all divisions. All the officers of the department have been instructed to remain vigilant.
Giving information about the main symptoms of lumpy disease, it was told that it is a skin disease, which is caused by virus of pox species in bovine and buffalo animals. Symptoms of the disease include mild fever in the infected animal, excessive salivation from the mouth and watery eyes and nose, swelling of the lymph nodes and legs, and decreased milk production, abortion in pregnant animals and sometimes death of the animal and the formation of a large number of lumps of 2 to 5 cm in size on the animal’s skin. Mouth ulcers in animals are also a symptom. The disease does not spread from animals to humans. Preventive and control measures include keeping infected cattle/herds separate from healthy animals, destroying with insecticides and disinfectants the parasitic insects, mites, flies, mosquitoes, etc. that affect animals, keeping the animals’ housing-fences clean, stopping the movement of animals from the infected areas to other areas, getting treatment from the vet immediately after the symptoms of the disease appear, banning the markets and fairs of animals, buying and selling of animals etc till the disease is controlled in the area besides vaccination of healthy animals.
Major instructions of Chief Minister Shri Chouhan
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Take the lumpy virus seriously. It is a contagious disease of serious nature. It is not to be taken lightly. our duty is to put an end to this.
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Inform the livestock owners about the necessary measures for the control of the virus, and also inform by calling the Gram Sabha.
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Vaccination of cows should be done in gaushalas. Vaccination of other animals should also be done.
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Restrict the movement of animals from the villages of infected animals to other places.
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To ensure that the disease does not spread, all precautions should be taken.