Maharashtra demands mass vaccination of cattle to control Lumpy Skin Disease

The government of Maharashtra has requested the central government to allow universal vaccination of cattle to contain the rapid spread of the highly contagious Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in the state. Currently, vaccination for the viral disease, which has killed about 50,000 cattle in the country, is done only in the vicinity of the affected area.

Dairy industry is worried about the spread of this disease, which results in fall in milk production and can lead to mortality in the affected animal. Maharashtra has declared the entire state as 'restricted area,' banning movement of cattle and closure of cattle markets.

The Maharashtra government on Monday decided to extend compensation to the farmers whose cattle die of Lumpy Skin Disease. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also asked the district planning committees to allocate Rs 1 crore for every district for containment measures.


Now the leading dairies from the state, a major producer of milk products like milk powder, cheese and ghee, and the state's animal husbandry department expressed need for vaccinating all the cattle.
"We have already started vaccinating animals in the affected area, for which we have sufficient availability of vaccines. However, we have also requested the central government to consider vaccinating all the cattle to contain the spread of LSD," said DD Parakale, additional commissioner (animal husbandry), Maharashtra.
Dashrath Mane, chairman of Sonai Dairy from Maharashtra said, "Taking lessons from Covid-19, we would like the government to carry out mass vaccination of all the cattle. The stocks with dairies are moderate and any major dip in milk production will not be good at this time."

India has been using goat pox vaccine to control LSD. The country has also developed indigenous vaccine for LSD.
Dr Ajit Naval, general secretary (Maharasthra) of the All-India Kisan Sabha said, “Looking at the contagious nature of the disease, if our mitigation measures are not effective enough, farmers may incur heavy losses and the milk production can also suffer.” Navale has called for setting up of a task force to control LSD in the state.