Over 750 cattle affected by skin disease in one day in parts of Sindh

DADU: Sindh Livestock Secretary Tameezuddin Khero on Sunday said that 766 fresh cases of the lumpy skin disease were reported in various parts of Sindh in a single day.

He said that the number of infected cattle in the province had rose to 24,948, of which 8,491 were recovered, 16,295 were under recovery, and 162 died.

The cases were reported in Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze, Ghotki, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Qamber Shahdadkot, Larkana, Dadu, Jamshoro, Thana Bula Khan, Kachho and Johi.

He said that the cases were only reported in cows and maintained that human were not at risk as meat and milk were safe for consumption.

The secretary added that the loss of weight and milk production had been reported in the infected cows.

He said that the veterinary doctors had advised non-specific treatments such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and vitamin injections as the disease was new, thus, no treatment, medicine or vaccine was available.

Mr Khero advised the cattle owners to keep infected animals away from the healthy ones, keep sheds clean, prevent animals from mosquitoes and insects, use mosquito nets, and frequently spray farms, animals and premises with anti-insect spray.

He said that the disease had its origin in Africa, which later spread to Middle East, Asia and eastern Europe and the outbreak was reported in Iran, India and some other regional countries in recent years.

He said that it was transmitted by blood sucking insects such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks. Its symptoms include fever and nodules on skin, which can lead to death. He said, however, the mortality rate had been found less than five per cent.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2022