DERA GHAZI KHAN, Sept 3: Over 400 animals, including buffaloes and cows, were carried off due to the outbreak of epidemic haemorrhagic septicemia in the riverine as well as plane areas of the DG Khan district during the last fortnight, it was learnt here on Thursday.

The Livestock and Dairy Development department has neither set up emergency cells nor taken remedial measures to control the epidemic from spreading further.

The haemorrhagic septicemia, locally known as 'gallghuto', a fatal bacterial disease of cows and buffaloes has erupted in the areas of Bait Muhri, Pir Adil, Darri Meru, Darrahma, Sarwarwali, Chabri Zirin, Easan Goraha, Tibbi Eisran, Gabbar Wah, Bohar, Mouza Lalu, Bah Baitwala in both Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa Sharif tehsils.

The farmers said the animals got fever as high as 107 degrees with infection in the respiratory tract. Livestock owners said that they had to suffer unbearable losses due to heavy mortality and morbidity ratio.

According to the figures available, three buffaloes and two cows of Wahid Bakhsh were killed in Pir Adil area, two each of Fateh Muhammad Jhangeel and Muhammad Ramzan, one each buffalo of Habibullah, Ghulam Yasin, Sabir Hussain and Allah Wasaya, two cows of Muhammad Hussain, two buffaloes of Abdul Ghafoor, two buffaloes and one cow of Allah Wasaya and 11 cows of another owner, whose name could not be known.

A livestock consultant said that due to severity of the lethal disease, treatment was not responding. He said carcasses of the animals lying across both sides of Indus highway near Pir Adil town, some 20kms from here, were also causing the further spread of the disease.

He said that the healthy herds of animals had started affecting with the disease on a large scale as the Livestock and Dairy Development Department had not made arrangements for the proper disposal of the dead animals.

In the absence of refrigerator, he said the vaccine was not stored properly at 25 degrees Celsius and its quality became deteriorated. Most of the farmers alleged that their animals became sick after vaccination which showed the improper transportation, handling and storage of the vaccine by the officials concerned.

The local Livestock department in violation of rules and regulations allegedly posted Dr Tariq at the Veterinary Hospital, Choti Zirin, the home town of the Zila Nazim.

In fact, the Punjab Livestock Department had appointed Dr Tariq at Pir Adil Veterinary Hospital and there is no provision of transfer in the contractual job.

The entire Pir Adil area in the riverine belt is badly deprived of technical and professional services. Veterinary Dr Mazhar Ayaz Khan Khosa advised the farmers to repeat the treatment after every six hours and dispose of the carcasses in the deep ditches.

When contacted, Livestock district officer Dr Allah Diwaya Khan Khosa denied the prevalence of the outbreak of the disease among the animals in the district.

Over 60 animals are reportedly died in Taunsa Sharif of owners Mujahid, Shabbir Buzdar, Abbas Meerani, Mushtaq Ahmed, Rasheed Khan, Omar Khan, Naseer Langah, Ramzan Ghaloo and others.