MEGA VACCINATION DRIVE AGAINST LUMPY SKIN DISEASES: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DEPARTMENT INOCULATES 18.50L CATTLE IN PUNJAB

Chandigarh, March 19:

          With Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government has set a target of vaccinating 25 lakh cattle in the State for early protection of cattle from Lumpy Skin disease (LSD), Animal Husbandry Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar on Sunday said that the drive is going on in full swing. The mega vaccination campaign against Lumpy skin disease was started on February 15, 2023.

          The Cabinet Minister, in his press communique, informed that the department has already completed 75 percent of vaccination till date with more than 18,50,000 cattle being already vaccinated against the disease.

          He said that as many as 300 Veterinary Officers have been recruited recently and they have joined their duties. These newly recruited officers will enable us to complete the vaccination drive before the stipulated deadline of April 30, 2023, he added.

          He said that the department is in the process of recruiting another batch of 300 Veterinary officers along with 644 Veterinary Inspectors for the purpose of strengthening animal healthcare system of the state.

          Divulging more details, Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry Mr. Vikas Pratap said that  the government had airlifted 25 lakh doses of Goat Pox vaccine from Telangana State Veterinary Biological and Research Institute, Hyderabad. Keeping in mind the situation of last year, when state had suffered loss of livestock due to LSD spread from neighbouring states, the state government has made foolproof strategy to ensure that this disease could not affect cattle population in the state, he added.

          Mr. Vikas Pratap said that this vaccine is being administered at free of cost to the vulnerable cattle population and proper cold chain is being maintained, while administering vaccine at doorstep.

          He said that 773 teams of Animal Husbandry department were deployed for this purpose. Daily target of 40,000 doses of vaccine was fixed, which has been achieved successfully. He expressed satisfaction regarding ongoing vaccination drive. Nearly 1850,000 doses have been administered. He thanked the farmers of the state for cooperation during this vaccination drive.