Lumpy skin disease may be controlled in a month, says Sanjeev Balyan

As Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) emerges as one of the biggest challenges facing the country’s dairy sector, minister of state for animal husbandry, fisheries and dairying Sanjeev Balyan said there are signs of stabilising. And, if things remain as they are, it should come under control within a month, he added.

“So far, LSD has been found in 13 states but in the last 2-3 days we are seeing some signs of the spread stabilising, except in Rajasthan. In UP, the spread has been confined to just western parts of the state. Figures are showing that it is getting controlled. In any virus, once it peaks, it starts going downhill,” Balyan told Business Standard on the sidelines of the World Dairy Summit (WDS) being held in Delhi.

He said according to information, around one million animals have been infected with LSD and the disease has been found across 11 states. The number of deaths has been around 75,000.

LSD is a contagious viral infection that affects cattle and causes fever, nodules on the skin, and can also lead to death.

On the impact of LSD on the country’s milk production, Balyan said there will be a minimal impact on annual milk production, if any.

“The disease is more in cows and we in India have around 100 million breeding cows of which around one million have been infected. So, you can understand how much will be the impact on milk production. I don’t think there will be any big impact of LSD on the country’s milk production. It will be less than 1 per cent,” the minister said.

India produced around 210 million tonnes of milk in 2021-22, the highest in the world.

Balyan said vaccination is one of the most potent tools to control LSD just like Covid. And, the central government is willing to help states in whatever way possible to get access to vaccines at the earliest.

“We, so far, have been providing vaccines to states in the ratio of 60:40 as part of the ongoing programmes. We are willing to make it even free if the states want. For this, we are floating a tender so that the Centre procures all the vaccines and then gives it to the states for distribution,” the minister said.

Currently, states are using ‘goat pox’ vaccine to control the spread of this disease.

The indigenous vaccine, called Lumpi-ProVacInd, has been developed by two institutes of agri research body ICAR. Its commercial launch is expected in the next three-four months

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the Centre and states are working jointly to control the spread of LSD.

Modi said the development of an indigenous vaccine for LSD and efforts to curb the movement of cattle from one state to another are steps being taken to control the disease.