Foot and Mouth Could Cripple Kerala Cattle Industry
INDIA – Kerala's foot and mouth outbreak has led to state milk production plummeting 40 per cent and could now threaten animal health at a local zoo, a farming minister has revealed.
9 January 2014
1 minute read
The outbreak, an O strain of the virus, has accounted for 4,705 cattle and affected over 50,000 animals in the Kerala district since August last year, reports The Hindu this week.
The extent of the affected animals has spread to Kerala's Thrissur Zoo.
K P Monohan, minister for animal husbandry, was quoted in The Hindu on Monday as saying the latest outbreak could cripple the dairy sector in the state.
He described the outbreak as ‘under control’, stating that ring vaccination procedures were being undertaken free of cost, as were district level disinfectant efforts.
However, former minister C Divakaran dismissed the vaccines as ineffective and called for better vaccine monitoring.
Scientists at the Southern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Bangalore and the All India Coordinated Research Project on FMD confirmed the virus strain.
TheCattleSite News Desk
