Nearly 100,000 cattle in India have died from the lumpy skin disease outbreak, and over 2 million more have fallen ill.
Since the disease can cause emaciation, decreased milk production, and birth defects in addition to death, the outbreak has caused cattle farmers to suffer devastating income losses.
It is spread by blood-feeding insects like ticks and mosquitoes, which is why the disease is also referred to as lumpy skin disease. Cows and buffaloes with the infection experience fevers and skin lumps.
Viral Disease After Extreme Weather
Extreme weather events have caused significant losses for farmers over the past year. For example, a record-breaking heat wave in India in April reduced wheat yields, inadequate rainfall in eastern states such as Jharkhand state caused winter crops like pulses to shrivel, and an unusually severe September rainfall damaged rice in the north.
The virus has now spread to at least 15 states and the number of cow and buffalo deaths has nearly doubled in the past three weeks.
Small farmers, many of whom have protected themselves from the upsets of climate change by raising cattle for milk, are being disproportionately affected by the cattle epidemic, according to Devinder Sharma, an agriculture policy expert from northern Chandigarh.
Sharma said that This viral disease has been spreading over the past few years, which is a serious problem. He further stated that the government statistics most likely understated the true number of people who had died from the disease.
Ground Zero: Zambia 1929
2019 saw the discovery of the first cases in South Asia, and since then, it has spread to China, India, and Nepal. It was first noted in 1929 in Zambia, and since then, it has spread throughout Africa and, more recently, into some regions of Europe.
According to federal data, dairy is one of the largest agricultural products in India, providing jobs for 80 million people and making up 5% of the country's GDP. It is the largest milk producer in the world, accounting for more than a fifth of total production; however, exports only account for a small portion of this.
Authorities are immunizing healthy cows with a shot made for a similar disease to protect the industry, while work is being done to develop a better vaccine.
Mass graves of cows now punctuate India's vast hinterland. In some places, the dead animals lie in the open to rot, and the villages are filled with the agonized cries of sick animals. The worst effects were felt in the western state of Rajasthan, where 60,000 cattle died and almost 1.4 million became ill.
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The lumpy skin disease is contagious and is currently moving from the west to the east, according to Narendra Mohan Singh, a director of the Animal Husbandry Department in the state of Rajasthan.
The movement and trade of cattle with nearby states have been restricted in the bordering Uttar Pradesh state, which is the most populous state in India. However, farmers in Milkipur village, like Amarnath Sharma, claim they have been kept in the dark. While he is aware of the viral illness, he is unsure of how to treat his animals, which include three of his five cows.
Sharma stressed that these animals will perish if they are not treated.
The government has also been urged for financial assistance by farmers in affected states, such as the Himalayan Himachal Pradesh.
According to research on the genetic makeup of the lumpy skin disease virus, it differs significantly from earlier iterations, according to Vinod Scaria, a researcher from New Delhi's Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology.
Viruses constantly change, but not all of these changes are detrimental to health. Scaria, one of the authors of the study, however, claimed that because it was unclear how the virus evolved over the previous two years, it exposed the need for ongoing disease monitoring and tracking.
Herders who were under constant observation, according to Scaria, would be ready for situations like this, Phys Org reports.
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