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KARACHI, July 5: Filthy conditions surrounding Cattle Colony in Landhi have given rise to fears of an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS), a bacterial disease. Animals stand exposed to the sun and mucky rainwater that has accumulated in many farms as there is no proper system of drainage and waste disposal. Temporary shelters have been destroyed and roads are in a shambles.
“Animals here are pretty vulnerable because they are stressed-out and weak. Most temporary shelters are destroyed. Animals are standing in filthy rainwater as there is no system of drainage and waste disposal. An outbreak of FMD with haemorrhagic septicaemia occurs almost every year after rains owing to the congested, dirty conditions animals are kept in,” says Dr Hafeez Shaikh, head of the Government Veterinary Hospital, Landhi.
According to him, free vaccination for FMD is being carried out at the colony, which accommodates 400,000 of the one million milching animals of the city. There are only 34 veterinarians working under the city government; of them, eight are deputed at Cattle Colony.
There is no reliable data about the number of animals affected last year by these diseases since not all farmers bring their animals to the government hospital; some are forced to sell them upon finding milk production drastically reduced.
About the nature of FMD and HS, Dr Khurshid, a private vet at Cattle Colony, says FMD is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease, while HS is an acute, bacterial disease with a high mortality rate.
‘Mastitis most common’
The outbreak of FMD, he contends, usually occurs during Eid-ul-Azha when a large number of animals are brought in from the interior of Sindh, Punjab and other parts of the country. At present, he says, 25 to 30 per cent animals are suffering from pneumonia, which if left untreated turns into HS. The most common disease, however, is mastitis, inflammation of the udder, at Cattle Colony.
“No doubt the buffalo is a hardy animal as compared to other cattle, but, in close confinement and filth, problems are bound to erupt. That is the reason that one in every three animals has mastitis here which gradually ends milk production if left untreated. Initially, farmers, most of whom have little knowledge about animal upkeep, go for self-medication to save money. Later, when the animal’s condition further deteriorates, they approach doctors,” Dr Khurshid says, adding that one won’t find disease so common in villages where buffaloes graze in open fields and plenty of water is available to them.
Infrastructure in tatters
Along with the fears of an outbreak of FMD and HS, Dr Rafiquddin Babar of the Dairy Farmers Association is also concerned about the dilapidated civic infrastructure of Cattle Colony, which has crumbled even more after the recent rains. “There is hardly any concrete road in the locality.
“The streets and lanes have developed big potholes which adversely affect milk transportation to the city. The city government has failed to remove encroachments from Mehran highway which has been under construction for the last three years. There is only track that can be used, causing traffic jams all the day round. Besides, there are persistent power outages due to which farmers are forced to buy water from tankers,” he says.
