Campaign to vaccinate cattle against FMD held at Bandipora

As part of National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), a vaccination campaign was Tuesday launched by the Department of Animal Husbandry Bandipora against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) among cattle.
The campaign was inaugurated by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Bandipora, Zahoor Ahmad Mir Monday in presence of Joint Director Planning, Imtiyaz Ahmad and Chief Animal Husbandry Officer Dr GA Lone.
The department aims to vaccinate more than one lakh cattle of the district during the nationwide campaign.
Speaking on the occasion, the ADC lauded the efforts of the department to fight the common disease found among cattle and said that FMD has been the main cause of cattle deaths and also leads to decrease in milk production and hoped that the vaccination campaign will help in preventing the disease.
Mir urged the farmers to make full use of the opportunity and extend their full cooperation to achieve the target of vaccinating every cattle. He was informed that the vaccines required for the animals have already been moved to the respective blocks and a detailed schedule has been worked out for the campaign.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer, Dr GA Lone said FMD is caused by FMD virus of different antigenic types and spreads very easily. He said there is a blister in the animal’s mouth which leads to ulcers in later stages while foot is also affected in the process. He said due to this, animals cannot eat properly, cows and buffalos don’t give milk and bullock cannot plough. He said the disease causes a drop in milk production, mortality in calves and increases cost of isolation and treatment.
Giving details about the preparations of the campaign, he said different teams of veterinarians and Para-veterinarians have been constituted for the purpose and have been sent to various blocks for vaccination. He said the vaccination would be carried out in coordination with field workers of various government departments.
Joint Director Planning Imtiyaz Ahmad said before the launch of the campaign, the department ran an awareness campaign wherein the department sensitized the cattle farmers about the importance of the vaccination against FMD by way of Focused Group Discussions, Farmers Meetings, seminars, displaying banners, distributing leaflets and folders besides holding awareness camps.
He urged the farmers to ensure their cattle are vaccinated to make the campaign successful by preventing their cattle from this disease.