PESHAWAR - Lumpy skin disease (LSD) has affected a large number of animals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as there has been no proper cure for the disease so far, relevant sources told The Nation on Friday.
Speaking to this correspondent, Director Livestock Dr Iftikhar Khan said that there has been no proper cure discovered for the LSD so far as it is being treated through vaccination and antibiotics at a moment. However, he said, the milk and meat from the affected animals can be used.
A farmer from rural Peshawar Khalid Khan said that his cow had got affected a week ago and ever since, he had been administering it Panadol tablets at morning and evening on daily basis to control fever, besides using an injection and Dettol spray.
“Owing to shortage of staff at livestock department, I hired the services of a private veterinarian,” he added.
He also said that the disease affects cows and bulls while there has been no case in buffaloes. He claimed almost 80 percent animals had been affected by the disease in his village.
He also claimed that the livestock authorities have so far failed to find a proper treatment of the disease, except vaccination of the cattle.
Meanwhile, Dr Masoom from the livestock department claimed that there were clinics of his department in every nook and corner of the province.
“In Peshawar alone, there are around 55 clinics and some bigger facilities,” he added. He said that the farmers should take their cattle to those clinics for free treatment as inviting the vet team to their homes may incur charges.
He also said that giving Panadol to animals was not enough as animals’ weight is much more than humans and they need heavier doses of antipyretic and anti-biotic medications.
It merits a mention here that this correspondent contacted the senior officials of the livestock department to get fresh data on the LSD cases, but they could not provide it till the filing of this report. Earlier, reports till mid-July suggested that more than 800 animals have been killed as a result of the disease in the province.
Veterinarians also advise that after purchasing cattle, one should keep the new animals separate at home from other animals for at least 24 hours and if the disease symptoms do not appear, then the animal can be mixed with other animals, otherwise it should be reported to livestock authorities in case of infection of LSD.
They maintained that LSD is not a zoonotic disease and there are no chances of transmission of disease from animals to humans