Cows have fallen ill due to Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in Goalanda, Rajbari. The highest number of young calves are affected by this viral disease. Farmers, including marginal farmers, are worried about their cows and calves as the disease spreads rapidly.
According to Goalando Upazila Livestock sources, cows are being affected by this disease in many areas of the four unions of the upazila, including Goalanda Municipality. Since the disease is contagious, LSD is easily spread from one cow to another through mosquitoes. There is no government vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease as a preventive measure. Most of the people affected by this viral disease are young calves. Therefore, meetings are being held in villages to warn the farmers and ranchers about what to do to protect livestock from LSD.
On Tuesday (July 1) at around 11 am, when The Country Today correspondent visited Goalanda Upazila Animal Resources Hospital, he saw that a woman named Salma from Chhota Bhagalpur area of Chhota Bhakla Union of the upazila was bringing her small calf cow suffering from lumpy skin disease. She said that for the past 20 days, lumps have appeared on her cow's body. Since the calf was very sick for 4-5 days, she is bringing it to the hospital to see a doctor.
Ujanchar Union Parishad Chairman Md. Golzar Hossain Mridha said, "One of my big cows' legs is swollen, so when I told the doctor at the animal hospital about it, he came and gave me first aid." He also said that the calf's body started to have a fever. The doctor said that the calf is suffering from LSD disease. In our village, three cows died of lumpy skin disease in the last week.
Mobarak Khan, a farmer from Majlishpur Char village in Ujanchar, said, "I kept a good cow in the cowshed at night. In the morning, I saw that the skin first had blisters and boils, then the cow became weak due to shivering and lack of food due to fever and then died. A cow in my village has died."
Goalando Upazila Animal Husbandry Officer Md. Shahadat Hossain said, this viral disease called lumpy skin is contagious. It spreads easily from one cow to another through mosquitoes and flies. We have not yet developed any official vaccine for this disease. However, some vaccines are available privately, but they are expensive."
He further said, small calves are more affected by this disease than large cows. We are regularly holding yard meetings in villages to warn farmers and ranchers about the disease.
There, we are giving various suggestions including keeping farms, cowsheds and the surrounding areas clean at all times, using mosquito nets, feeding cows and calves nutritious food with vitamins, and bathing cows and calves with water from neem leaves.
