Vaccination drive against foot and mouth disease (FMD) for cattle in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts was launched on Wednesday.
Vellore Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian initiated the drive in Vellore town, which has a sizable population of milch cows and goats. The vaccine is administered to the cattle twice a year by the Department of Animal Husbandry and veterinary sciences at free of cost. Cattle including milch cows, buffaloes, bulls, goats, sheep and pigs will be vaccinated.
“Generally, vaccination against the disease is done in September and February every year depending on its availability. In Vellore, the three-week drive up to March 21 will cover around 1.85 lakh cattle,” said Dr. G. Anbuvan, Assistant Director (AD), Department of Animal Husbandry (Vellore).
Executed under the centrally sponsored National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), the vaccine helps to increase the immunity of the animals and thereby, prevent loss of income for dairy farmers. The drive conducted on Wednesday was the third drive since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccination drive was slowed down during the pandemic.
Among these districts, Tiruvannamalai has the highest number of cattle —7.44 lakh —that will be covered under the programme this season. Second on the list is Vellore with 1.85 lakh cattle, followed by Ranipet with 1.35 lakh cattle and Tirupattur with 1.15 lakh cattle.
Veterinarians said that high fever, boils in the mouth and feet, loss of weight, and swelling in the mouth are some of the symptoms of the disease. The disease is airborne. The infection spreads during the monsoon season and cold weather, especially between November and December every year in these districts.
Published - March 01, 2023 10:11 pm IST
