The Ministry of National Food and Research’s plea to declare a national disease emergency on account of thousands of cases of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in livestock has brought to light the next vector-borne disease in Pakistan. Manifesting through high temperatures, reduced milk production and an overall deterioration in health, LSD could devastate the agriculture sector through reduced yields.
The situation is already rather grave ahead of Eidul Adha; before we have a bigger problem on our hands, the government must act.
13,856 cases of the virus were reported in KP and eight animals were denied entry into cattle markets in Islamabad because they were exhibiting symptoms. These are statistics that are reported from the few regulated markets in the country, the real count may be much higher. Recognising this, the Ministry of National Food and Research asked the PM to declare a disease emergency but so far, not much action has been taken.
According to some estimates, the cost of isolating and treating diseased cattle, carrying out a vaccination campaign, setting up check posts and creating awareness about the issue may cost Rs.4.8 billion. This may seem like a hefty price to pay, especially when the disease has no public health implications. The produce of the livestock can still be consumed. However, what fails to be understood is that this will have a long-term impact on yields.
Suffering from high temperatures and experiencing extreme discomfort results in reduced milk production. Furthermore, livestock itself constitutes 60 percent of the overall value of agriculture and with disease rampant, deaths will cause this value to take a major hit. There is still plenty that we do not know, like whether this disease will impact crops since waste produced by these animals is used as fertiliser as well. There is just no knowing how much havoc LSD can cause which is why it is imperative to take this disease seriously.
Already, 208,252 animals have been vaccinated, over a dozen check posts have been set up and animals are being monitored and sprayed against insecticides. Such measures should be taken on an even larger scale so that the problem can be resolved before it brings forth another health crisis and causes more economic hardships than we can handle.
