Pune, Sep 12 (PTI) The Maharashtra animal husbandry department has directed district authorities to speed up the vaccination drive to check the spread of Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle.

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LSD has so far claimed the lives of 43 heads of cattle, a animal husbandry department release said.

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A total of 5,51,120 livestock in 1,755 villages within a 5-km radius of the infected area have been vaccinated, stated the release.

Out of total of 2,664 infected livestock in affected villages, 1,520 have recovered after treatment, it added.

In a release, Animal Husbandry Department Commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh said LSD was spreading rapidly in the state and there was need to raise public awareness on a large scale.

"In order to keep down the mortality rate down due to lumpy skin disease in Maharashtra, a batch of 10 lakh vaccine doses has been received to vaccinate cows within a radius of 5 kilometres of an affected area," the release said.

It also added that Rs 1 crore should be made available from the District Planning Committee for each district for procurement of vaccines and medicines useful in curbing the ailment.

"A vaccination campaign should be conducted in collaboration with private livestock supervisors to control LSD and their services should be taken on a remuneration basis. Vacant posts in the animal husbandry department must be immediately filled on a contract basis," it added.

The Maharashtra government has already declared the whole state as a "controlled area" to curb the spread of the disease, and has banned the holding of markets, races and exhibitions connected to cattle.

Singh said his department had observed private practitioners were prescribing expensive antibiotics and other supportive medicines for the disease, whereas all necessary medicines were available with government veterinary dispensaries and taluka mini veterinary polyclinics.

"All farmers should avail free treatment for their affected cattle at their doorstep by contacting nearby government veterinary dispensaries and livestock development officers," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)