Lumpy skin contagion leaves 158 cattle dead

Lumpy skin infection is taking the death toll on cattle in Rasuwa. The increasing outbreak of contagious animal disease has panicked local farmers with cattle dying of Lumpy skin infection.

A total of 159 cattle died due to infection in the district. The lumpy skin disease has been broken out in all five rural municipalities of the district. Among them, Gosainkunda rural municipality has seen the biggest loss of cattle.

As of now lumpy skin contagion killed 22 yaks and 41 cows of local species in six wards of Gosainkunda, shared Livestock Technical Chief at Syafrubesi in the rural municipality, Suresh Badal.

Efforts are underway to contain the outbreak of the infectious viral disease. Livestock technician' teams are being mobilized at wards', he informed.

As many as 800 cattle have been infected with lumpy skin disease in Gosainkunda alone. Badal stressed the need to keep the infected cattle in isolation.

The disease has broken out due to the practice of keeping cattle free in open grazing land in highland areas, he said.

Lumpy skin has also caused a loss to the farmers of Naukunda, Kalika and Uttargaya rural municipalities of the district.

Technicians of the concerned rural municipalities in the district informed that as many as 1,500 infected cattle are being treated in other local level areas in the district, except Chhodingmo.

According to Kalika rural municipality livestock section chief, Buddhinath Neupane, a technical team has been deployed in the rural municipalities in the southern belt of Rasuwa for disease control.

As the infection has mostly affected oxen used for plough, it has direct bearing on the farmers in paddy plantation.

Information Officer at Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Expert Centre, Nuwakot, Dr Bablu Tharu, a total of 13,000 cows, oxen and yaks were infected with lumpy skin in Nuwakot and Rasuwa as of July 16.

"A report has come about the death toll of yaks in the Rasuwa highland due to lumpy skin", he said, adding, "Our team is heading to the highland to take stock of the situation there".

Dr Tharu further shared medicines have been deployed in the lumpy skin infected areas for immediate relief. As many as 411 livestock died of the contagious disease in Nuwakot, he informed.