Chandigarh, August 27:
Punjab has completed the target given by the Group of Ministers to vaccinate all animals in the Gaushalas of the state within three days for the prevention of lumpy skin disease (LSD), informed Mr. Vikas Pratap, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry Department, here today. He said that the veterinary staff visited all the gaushalas and vaccinated the animals after the consent of the concerned management.
After video conferencing with all the district officials of the state regarding Lumpy Skin and African Swine Fever diseases spread in the state, Mr. Vikas Pratap said that vaccination of about 5.94 lakh animals has been completed so far. He said that the department has adequate amount of vaccine and 10 lakh healthy animals will be vaccinated during the next week.
The Principal Secretary, quoting district officials, said that the effect of LSD has started to decrease in Punjab as the spread of the disease is stabilizing and its impact is likely to decrease further in the next few days.
Mr. Pratap instructed all the officials to be vigilant regarding the spread of African Swine Fever, saying that they should keep a close eye in the areas under their jurisdiction to prevent the disease, they should ensure strict compliance of “The Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009” and “National Action Plan for Control, Containment and Eradication of African Swine Fever (June 2020).”
The Principal Secretary urged the public that there is no need to panic over African Swine Fever as this disease in non-zoonotic, hence it does not infect humans.
