Balewa, July 19 : In an effort to safeguard cattle from the infectious Lumpy Skin disease, medicines and vaccinations have been dispatched to all local governments’ wards in Baglung.

Dr. Rishiram Sapkota, Chief of Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre, revealed that vaccines and drugs have been distributed to the wards through technicians at the local government level. So far, approximately 2,900 cattle have fallen prey to the contagious Lumpy Skin disease.

To address the situation in Baglung municipality, the Centre has sent vaccines for 500 cattle. Tragically, 166 cows have already succumbed to Lumpy Skin infection in the area. Symptoms of this viral infectious disease include fever, excessive lacrimation, hyper-salivation, and skin eruptions. The disease has been particularly prevalent among cows kept in farms across the district.

The Lumpy Skin infection was initially detected among cattle in Badigad rural municipality of Baglung last April, and since then, it has been progressively spreading to other areas, Sapkota reported.With cattle falling ill, milk production has also plummeted, causing significant financial losses for farmers. The death toll of cattle due to the disease has resulted in a loss of millions of rupees.

Dhorpatan municipality alone has reported 1,200 cases of cattle infection, followed by 513 in Nisikhola, 142 in Galkot municipality, 181 in Badigad rural municipality, and 189 in Tamankhola. Baglung municipality has recorded 221 cases of Lumpy Skin infection.

Local governments have taken measures to provide vaccines and inoculation services to the affected cattle as the infection rate continues to rise.In an attempt to combat the outbreak, the Veterinary Hospital sent 4,500 vaccine doses to the local level in Baglung. However, the lack of technical human resources has hindered vaccination efforts in Dhorpatan, the area with the highest number of infection cases.