Lucknow. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well as in many districts of western Uttar Pradesh, preparations have started for the ‘long siege’ of the fast-spreading lumpi virus. The Yogi government has prepared a master plan to encircle the lumpy virus from Pilibhit to Etawah through an immune belt of about three hundred kilometers long. The immune belt passing through 23 blocks of five districts will be 10 km wide. Preparations for this have been completed by the Animal Husbandry Department.
Infected animals will not be able to cross the immune belt
A special task force will be formed by the Animal Husbandry Department for surveillance under the Immune Belt. The task force will handle the tracking and treatment of animals infected with the lumpi virus. Along with keeping a close watch on infected animals, there will be a system to stop them within the immune belt. Such an effort to prevent animal infection has been done earlier in Malaysia in 2020, the results of which were very positive.
Government is running fast vaccination campaign
23 districts of UP are affected by the lumpi virus. Of these, the highest number of cases have been reported in Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. At the same time, the virus is spreading rapidly in Mathura, Bulandshahr, Baghpat, Hapur, Meerut, Shamli and Bijnor. So far, 21,619 cows from 2,331 villages of the state have been infected due to the lumpi virus, out of which 199 have died, while 9,834 have become healthy. In view of the seriousness of the infection, the Yogi government has started a massive vaccination campaign. So far 5,83,600 cows have been vaccinated in this.
so that the virus does not spread from west to east
Most of the cases of lumpi virus in the state have been reported in the western districts only. In view of this, the Yogi government has prepared a plan to cover a distance of about 300 km from Pilibhit to Etawah with a 10-km-wide immune belt. The Animal Husbandry Department has placed a presentation of the master plan related to the immune belt in front of the Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, which has been agreed by the government.
Immune belt will pass through these development blocks
This immune belt passes through Bisalpur, Barkheda, Lalorikheda, Marori and Amaria development blocks of Pilibhit district via Khudaganj, Nigohi, Sidhauli, Bhawal Kheda, Kant, Jalalabad and Mirzapur development blocks of Shahjahanpur district, Kaimganj, Shamsabad and Rajepur development blocks of Farrukhabad district. It will reach Kurawali, Sultanganj and Ghirour development blocks of Mainpuri district and Badhpura, Jaswantnagar, Saifai, Basrehar and Takha development blocks of Etawah.
There is no shortage of vaccines in UP
According to the officials of the Animal Husbandry Department, special vigilance is being taken in 9 divisions of the state regarding the lumpi virus. In view of the spread of the virus, the month of September is considered very sensitive. According to officials, there is no shortage of vaccines with the department and more than 32 lakh vaccines have been received. Now preparations have been completed to administer two lakh vaccines per day, which is soon planned to be increased to three lakh vaccines per day.
what is lumpy virus
Lumpy virus is a dangerous virus found in animals. It travels from one animal to another by flies and some species of mosquitoes and ticks. Animals infected with the lumpi virus have a high fever and loss of appetite. Apart from this, round raised lumps are formed all over the body including face, neck, muzzle, eyelids. Along with this, swelling in the legs, lameness and the ability to work in the male animal also decreases. Sometimes animals even die.