By Our Correspondent
Dhalkebar, Jan. 24: The Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Services Expert Centre, Dhanusha, has vaccinated 65,000 cows and buffaloes against the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
The vaccine has been given free of cost for the prevention and control of the FMD in cows and buffaloes.
Chief of the centre Dr. Shambhu Sah informed that the vaccines were given against the disease through the veterinary branches of 18 local levels of the district.
He said that they have conducted the vaccination programmes after cows and buffaloes started dying from the infection.

Sah claimed that the disease was brought under control after the vaccination drive was launched. FMD viruses were reported in the legs and mouths of the animals, due to which they stopped eating first and died, he said.
He also suggested that non-infected animals should be kept away from the infected ones as the disease is highly contagious and can be transmitted to other animals that come in contact with the infected animals.

Veterinarian Sah also advised the farmers to regularly vaccinate their animals to prevent them from the disease. In the current fiscal year 2021/22, the office has targeted to vaccinate about 65,000 of 130,000 animals against the disease in the district in the first phase.
He said that the rest of the animals would be vaccinated within the next month.

Around 36 vaccinators have been mobilised in the vaccination campaign. Veterinarians are also providing door-to-door service.
In Dhanusha, a complete vaccination programme is being implemented for the animals of all municipalities in the current fiscal year as well.
After vaccinating all animals in the district in the first phase, booster dose will be given from coming June, said Dr. Sah.

Statistics of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Control Laboratory have shown that 65 cattle have died of the FMD in the district since November last year.
Meanwhile, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in animals has not come under control in West Nawalparasi for the past one month.

According to our Parasi Correspondent, hundreds of animals have died of FMD in the last one month in Sunwal, Bardaghat, Ramgram Municipality, Sarawal and Palhinandan Rural Municipality of West Nawalparasi.
Although efforts are being made to control the outbreak of the disease in most of the localities, the farmers have already suffered huge losses due to the outbreak of the disease, said Mishri Prasad Khadka, chief of the Animal Husbandry Branch Office of Sunwal Municipality.

According to him, more than 100 cattle, including five lactating cows of Hema Pandey of Misrauli in Sunwal Municipality-11, one cow of Mukti Ram Basyal of Sunwal-11, a total of 82 pigs of Narayan Khadka of Sunwal-11 and 12 cattle of Ghanshyam Ale of Sunwal-13 died in the past one month.

The disease, which occurs mainly during the rainy season, is seen in winter this time. Bimal Dhakal, a veterinarian and veterinary service trainer of Sunwal Municipality, said that animals, including cows, goats, buffaloes and pigs develop sores in their legs and mouth after contract the disease.