“I am devastated. I have lost three cattle till now, losing around Rs 1.5 lakh,” said Sanwla Ram, an animal herder from Bhinmal, Jalore district, in a voice choked with tears, as he looks at the drooping eyes of his cows in the shed. “It’s been a tough time of the year. I have lost three cows and two more are infected. One is on the verge of death with lumps all over its body. Government should take some measures soon,” Sanwla added.
Sanwla’s case is not in isolation. There are many cattle herders and owners who are facing a similar plight as over 23,000 livestock have died till now due to lumpy skin disease across the state — the most affected districts are Jalore, Jodhpur, Sirohi, Barmer, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Pali, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer. The government is on a high alert to control the virus.
Due to the growing cases, Rajasthan Animal Husbandry department is staring at its biggest crisis ever. Animal husbandry is 10 per cent of Rajasthan’s GDP which has directly been hit due to the disease caused by a virus. Cattle are dying every day in many districts of the state, leaving animal herders in a financial mess.
In Barmer, where 2000 cows have died, Hastimal Rajpurohit, an animal herder said that they are trying to make people aware of the virus. He said, “We are trying to quarantine the animal, which is showing any symptoms. But the threat still remains as the stray cattle, which could be virus carriers, are roaming everywhere.”
Lumpy skin virus is said to be a Rajasthan Animal Husbandry department. Satish Kumar Garg, the vice-chancellor of Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bikaner, said that in 2019, it spread in Odisha but couldn’t cross the border. Although there have been isolated cases of Lumpy Virus recorded in Rajasthan, this is the first time that it has spread on such a large-scale.
He further explained, “This form of pox virus, just like in humans, has different varieties in different animals. It is also found in sheep, camels, buffaloes and cows. It is transmitted through blood-feeding insects like flies, mosquitoes and ticks. In Rajasthan, we are giving them goat pox vaccines, which seem to be 60 per cent effective.”
After the 2019 outbreak in Odisha, agriculture institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) started working on indigenous vaccines, which are now being prepared. The India government will soon begin its production.
Until then, there is a need to start taking preventive measures for the cattle. Speaking to The New Indian, Rajasthan Animal Husbandry Minister Lal Chand Kataria said that the state government has ordered 40 lakh goat pox vaccines but due to the high demand, the company is not able to supply.
The main challenges being faced by the state government is that the virus is difficult to manage in faraway places of Rajasthan. There is also a shortage of veterinary staff in the state. Gaushalas are populated with high number of animals and segregating the affected ones is difficult. Moreover, stray animals that are not monitored also pose a risk, sources said.
Kataria added, “This is a serious issue and we are tackling it in the best possible manner. We are trying to arrange the vaccine but until then, an awareness programme is also going on. Usually, animal owners wait for a long time after the symptoms are detected. We are trying to teach the owners to treat the animals when they are suffering from initial fever or stop eating. It was manageable at that time and this awareness programme has shown good impact.”Animal owners are also taught to spray anti-mosquitoes in the cattle yard or use fogging techniques to keep the mosquitoes or flies away. But until strong measures and vaccination drives begin, the toll will continue to rise.