ISLAMABAD: In a meeting, the Ministry of National Food Security & Research has decided to take funds from the World Bank to control lumpy skin disease in cattle.

The forum on Monday decided that cattle would be issued vaccination certificates just like coronavirus. On the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, cattle would not be allowed to enter markets without the medical fitness certificates.

Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr Akram suggested restriction on movement of cattle. Dr Akram said the entire truck would be returned, if even one animal was affected in a truck.

Read more: VACCINE FOR LUMPY SKIN DISEASE TO BE DEVELOPED IN DOW UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

The meeting was informed that the disease had been reported on a massive scale in Punjab as the province’s 15 districts were affected. Few of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s districts were also affected. No case of skin disease was reported in Azad Kashmir. While, 136 cases have been reported in Balochistan.

Dairy & Cattle Farmers Association Pakistan President Shakir Umar Gujjar asked traders of the four provinces to get vaccination certificates for their cattle.

On April 2, the first consignment of vaccine for lumpy skin disease had reached Karachi from Turkey.

Lumpy skin disease is an infectious, eruptive, occasionally fatal disease of cattle characterized by nodules on the skin and other parts of the body.

Read more: HUMANS NOT AT RISK FROM LUMPY SKIN DISEASE: LIVESTOCK DEPT

The Sindh government had approached a Turkish company for four million doses to combat the lumpy skin disease.

The first consignment of the vaccine imported from Turkey contained one million doses.

In March, Dow University of Health Sciences and Sindh Livestock Department had announced a joint venture to develop a vaccine for lumpy skin disease.

Meat Merchants Association had welcomed the decision and offered full cooperation for the development of the vaccine.

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