Demand For Lumpy Skin Disease To Be Declared As Pandemic; What Is LSD?

Jaipur: As if coronavirus was not enough, there is a new disease in the air which could take the form of another ‘pandemic’.

It’s the lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cows, which has been spreading in a number of states across India. So much so that Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday demanded that the Indian government should declare it as a pandemic.

“Around seven to eight states are affected with the lumpy disease. We demand the GoI to declare the disease as pandemic. The way cows succumb to this disease is painful and unimaginable,” said Gehlot.

LSD is an infectious viral disease that affects cattle and is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, like certain species of flies and mosquitoes. It causes fever, nodules on skin and can be fatal, especially in animals.

Gehlot pointed out that there is no vaccine or medicine to counter this viral disease currently, experiments have just started to develop it.

“The situation is worse and if the disease continues to spread, then like COVID, it will affect our cattle. If it is declared pandemic then the state can get relief from disaster funds and effective work could be done. The disease is dangerous and spreading rapidly, even the situation in Gujarat is deteriorating,” Gehlot said.

LSD has been found in 29 out of 33 districts in Rajasthan, and has killed more than 22,000 animals, mainly cows, in the state.

The other state severely affected by LSD is Gujarat, where 3,000 cattle have succumbed to the infectious disease.

The Gujarat government has taken note, with CM Bhupendra Patel recently visiting affected areas in Kutch to review the situation.

Among other states where LSD has been detected are Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.