Unidentified disease spreads on Manang yaks

A large number of yaks in the pastureland in Disyang Rural Municipality in Manang are taken ill and around 30 died from an unidentified disease.

Chief of Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Services Expert Centre, Manang, Narayan Kusum said that a team of livestock technicians visited the site for the treatment of the disease after the issue was noticed.

The yaks have developed the symptoms of high fever, maximum salivation, difficulty in breathing, swollen throat, and some others.

So far 30 yaks have died of the disease.

According to Kusum, on the basis of the symptoms on the yaks, the technicians have suspected the spread of foot and mouth disease. However, it is yet to confirm from the sample test of blood and bone marrow of yaks.

Veterinarians have continued their surveillance as the yaks are still sick in the pastureland.

The Centre stated that samples of the blood and bone marrow have been sent to Provincial Veterinary Laboratory in Pokhara for the diagnosis of the disease.

However, Chief of the Laboratory, Kedar Raj Pandey, said the disease is not confirmed yet adding that yak dung was needed to confirm whether or not foot and mouth disease was spread in Manang.

Pandey argued that chances are high for the infection of parasite leech on animals in the Himalayas during September and October. "That could have also created problems on animals," he added.