LSD: DG Livestock claims South African vaccine aggravated virus outbreak in cattle
DG Livestock Department Sindh claimed the misuse of vaccines privately imported from South Africa aggravated the outbreak of LSD in cattle.
KARACHI: The Director-General of the Sindh Livestock Department, Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro has claimed that the misuse of vaccines privately imported from South Africa aggravated the outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle.
The statement came forth before the reports of LSD outbreak in buffaloes after the cows, affecting the meat and dairy businesses primarily in Sindh province. He was of the view that most dairy farmers indiscriminately used live virus vaccines reportedly without consulting a qualified veterinarian
DG Livestock Department Dr Nazeer Kalhoro made the statement while addressing a seminar organised by the Association of Molecular and Microbial Sciences at Dow International Medical College, Ojha campus on Thursday.
Yesterday, the Meat Merchants Association praised the joint efforts of locally-produced LSD vaccine by the Dow University of Health Sciences and Sindh Livestock Department besides offering its cooperation for its production.
The office-bearers of the meat merchants association said that the LSD outbreak has mostly affected the meat businesses in the metropolis as meat sales reduced to only 30 per cent in Karachi. Before the LSD outbreak, 3,000 to 5,000 animals were slaughtered for meat which is now reduced to below 1,0000, they said.
They also praised the DG Livestock’s statement in which he accepted that the privately imported LSD from South Africa boosted the spread of the virus in cattle.
The meat merchants demanded the concerned authorities launch a thorough probe into the findings besides formulating a comprehensive vaccination plan for the cattle and seeking assistance from professionals from other institutions to curb the LSD outbreak.
The meat sellers vowed their cooperation in the effective measures taken to curb the spread of diseases and other issues related to cattle farming.
The lumpy skin disease LSD epidemic has reportedly spread to 24 districts of Sindh including cattle farms in the provincial capital Karachi that killed hundreds of cows so far and nearly 30,000 cows have been infected.
