Over 1,000 bovines dead as lumpy virus wreaks havoc in Jharkhand

Jharkhand, which was already facing a drought-like situation is now facing the Lumpy virus challenge as over 1,000 cattle have fallen to the contagious disease. The government has cancelled all leaves of the officials of the Animal Husbandry department to tackle the situation.

Ranchi (Jharkhand): Several districts in Jharkhand are reeling under lumpy virus infections leading to the deaths of more than 1,000 bovines. The virus has wreaked havoc in districts such as Chatra, Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Sahibganj, Godda, Dumka, Gumla, Ramgarh, and Hazaribagh during the last one week.

Inputs received from the ground reveal that over 1,000 cattle have died due to this deadly virus. The deaths have taken place amid a drought situation in the state, a double whammy for farmers and livestock rearers. After detecting lumpy virus-like symptoms prevalent among cattle, the state's Animal Husbandry Department has issued instructions to farmers to take precautionary steps. The department has been carrying out vaccination drives to prevent the further spread of the highly contagious disease in cattle.

The department has also issued instructions to all the district animal husbandry officers and nodal officers to collect swab samples and send them to labs. The officials were also told to maintain a cold chain while sending swabs of animals for examination. The government has also cancelled all leaves of officials of the animal husbandry department.

Some of the farmers say that animals are dying within 10 days after the appearance of symptoms of the lumpy virus. The disease is caused among bovines due to the bite of infected flies, mosquitoes, and lice. It spreads to calves as well. The swab discharge from the nose, mouth, and wounds of the sick animal also leads to the spreading of the infection.