Published Date: 2016-09-15 17:40:05
Subject: PRO/AH> Foot & mouth disease - India (02): (RJ) bovine
Archive Number: 20160915.4491064
FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - INDIA (02): (RAJASTHAN) BOVINE
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Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2016, 10.29 PM IST
Source: The Times of India (TOI), Times News Network (TNN) [edited]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Foot-and-mouth-disease-spelling-doom-for-livestock-in-Pali/articleshow/54317027.cms
Shepherds of the Rebari community of Kothar Panchayat in Pali district [Rajasthan] are in low spirits after a harsh infection killed their livestock, battering a trade to the area's already fragile economy. Heerka Ram Devasi, is one such shepherd of Vellar village who lost 61 goats and is now struggling as he is solely dependent on livestock for livelihood. However, Heerka is not only one. In past week, more than 500 sheep and goats succumbed to foot and mouth disease (FMD).
FMD is an infectious and sometimes fatal disease whose symptoms are high fever for 2 to 3 days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness to the animal. Kinjal Kanwar, sarpanch of Kothar Panchayat said, "The outbreak of foot and mouth disease that spelt doom for cattle and shepherds this time is the worse attack recorded in our panchayat during the past decade."
Villagers alleged that even after reminders to the administration, assistance came late, which resulted in an increased death toll of the livestock. "The animals have been afflicted by this infection for the past 10 days. However, the animal husbandry team swung into action only after the villager threatened to sit on dharna. A team visited our village for mere formality on Mon [12 Sep 2016]. Deaths were reported on Tue [13 Sep 2016] too," said Sangram Singh, a local villager.
Veterinarians blame ignorance and negligence on the part of cattle breeders for the disease. "The livestock needs to be vaccinated twice a year before monsoon and onset of winters to save them from the disease but breeders fail to do so," said Puna Ram, a veterinarian doctor.
FMD has severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing or feed, and by domestic and wild predators. However, experts claim that after giving vaccination and with the rise in temperature, the situation will soon be under control. "With the cold subsiding, the situation is under control as the virus of the disease becomes dormant as temperature rises. However, taking precautionary measures, farmers are being advised to separate infected cattle from other animals so that the infection doesn't spread." said another vet doctor.
Locals also demand the situation has occurred as there is no hospital and medical facilities in the region. Satruanjay Singh, who is working for wildlife conservation in the area said, "There are over 20 000 livestock in the region. But there is no hospital. The state government has deployed only one compounder for so many animals. Besides, when wild animals kill the livestock, the medical department never comes to conduct a postmortem."
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[The FMD situation in India, including quality of the vaccines, their matching of circulating strains, and vaccination coverage are of concern, locally and beyond. The disease causes heavy losses to the Indian farming industry and to the countless owners of individual animals, as well as potentially to India's exports (see 20151008.3699496) and its wildlife. The circulating virus strains pose a serious risk elsewhere as well.
During the recent 3 years, 2 FMD strains from the Indian subcontinent (India, Bhutan, Bangladesh) have spread into the Middle East and Northern Africa (the Maghreb), causing serious losses and threatening Europe. These are FMDV serotype O, topotype ME-SA, strain Ind-2001d (Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco) and FMDV serotype A, topotype Asia, genotype (strain) VII (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran). Their respective genotyping results, including their relationship to FMDV strains from the Indian subcontinent, are available on the website of the World reference laboratory for FMD (WRLFMD) as follows:
FMDV serotype O, topotype ME-SA, strain Ind-2001d:
Libya: http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2013/WRLFMD-2013-00030%20O%20Libya%202013.pdf
Saudi Arabia: http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2014/WRLFMD-2014-00014%20O%20Saudi%20Arabia%202014.pdf
Tunisia: http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2014/WRLFMD-2014-00029%20O%20Tunisia%202014.pdf
Algeria: http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2014/WRLFMD-2014-00028%20O%20Algeria%202014.pdf
Morocco: http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2015/WRLFMD-2015-00030%20O%20Morocco%202015.pdf.
Subscribers are referred to the recent paper at http://genomea.asm.org/content/4/2/e01746-15.full (reference below).
The authors concluded:
"After the initial emergence of the Ind-2001d lineage from the Indian subcontinent to the Middle East and North Africa in 2013, the virus became established in North Africa. The emergence and continued spread of the Ind-2001d lineage reinforce the need to monitor and report outbreaks of FMD not only to understand the global epidemiology of the disease but also to develop tailored control strategies".
Reference
K Bachanek-Bankowska, J Wadsworth, A Gray, N Abouchoaib, DP King, NJ Knowles. Genome sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O isolated from Morocco in 2015. Genome Announc. 2016; 4(2):e01746-15. doi:10.1128/genomeA.01746-15. - Mod.AS
Maps of India can be seen at http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-political-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/promed/p/41781. - CopyEd.AO
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/317.]
