HARIPUR: The lumpy skin disease (LSD) is killing five cows daily on average and has affected hundreds of cattle in Haripur district, farmers and veterinary officials said here on Saturday.

The LSD outbreak was first reported among cows in June when veterinary officials had diagnosed 150 cows with the disease, but the situation worsened after Eidul Azha and the number of infections climbed to 846 when arrival of cows and bulls for sacrificial purpose from Punjab was not stopped despite warnings from veterinary officials, thus increasing the mortality rate among cattle.

“Officially, there are 846 cows and bulls under treatment at present, and mortality rate is five animals a day on average,” Dr Sohrab Ahmed Malik, district veterinary director, told Dawn.

Bajaur farmers complain about medicine shortage

He said LSD cases were on rise in all the three tehsils of Haripur, but Ghazi was the worst affected as infected cows were brought there from Punjab two months ago.

Mr Malik said of total 175,000 cows and bulls in the district 23,000 had been vaccinated during last two months, while 4,000 animals would be vaccinated in next two days.

He said anti-tick sprays and provision of medicines in the affected areas and cattle markets was underway.

In Bajaur, farmers of various areas on Saturday complained about shortage of medicines and poor response of the livestock department to the lumpy skin disease.

Talking to this correspondent, people of several localities claimed that scores of cattle affected by LSD had died so far. They added that the department’s officials were yet to visit the areas where a number of animals had been infected.

Akbar Khan, a resident of Barang tehsil, said one of his cows died of LSD due to unavailability of proper treatment facility.

Ihsan Khan of Sarkari Qala, Charmang, told this scribe the disease had killed scores of animals in their locality during last three months. Some farmers complained about unavailability of proper medicines in the market and urged the government to take notice of the situation.

When contacted, an official of livestock department claimed they were making efforts to provide treatment to infected animals and control the disease.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2022