MASS IMMUNISATION DRIVE AGAINST LUMPY SKIN DISEASE IN PUNJAB FROM TODAY

Chandigarh: Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government will commence the mass inoculation drive for cattle as a preventive measure against the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) from February 25, said Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries, Punjab, while informing that the state has procured 25 lakh doses of Goat Pox vaccine at a cost of Rs 78.75 lakh from Telangana State Veterinary Biological & Research Institution, Hyderabad.

Punjab State Veterinary Vaccine Institute, Ludhiana has distributed the vaccine to all the districts, said the Cabinet Minister while adding that the vaccine will be administered to all the cattle population of the state free of cost including cattle ponds run by the state government and private Gaushalas under this drive.

S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian informed that Joint Director RDDL, Jalandhar has been appointed as a nodal officer to execute the immunisation drive efficiently in the state. Punjab Animal Husbandry department has also set up a control-room at state level, besides, setting up district level control-rooms at the offices of Deputy Directors of Animal Husbandry department. The department has also issued a helpline number 0172-2217084 to help the livestock farmers.

He said that now, the Goat Pox vaccine is being repeated for the third time as a booster dose to prevent the disease. He also asked the officials to maintain the cold chain efficiently and sensitise the livestock farmers about the benefits of the immunisation drive.