Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak hits Bijnor; cattle owners slam admin over vaccination failure

Bijnor: Two pregnant cows have died because of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Bijnor district, triggering panic among cattle owners. Farmers have blamed the veterinary department for the outbreak, alleging that it has failed to carry out timely vaccination to prevent spreading of the infection in the district which is home to over 7 lakh animals.Farmers across the district have reported a sharp drop in milk production. Still recovering from the setback due to the monsoon floods, the farmers are facing heavy losses because of the outbreak. Sanjay Kumar and Sandeep Chaudhary of Madhusudanpur village, who lost their cows on Monday, said the animals had been infected for several days. The state president of the youth wing of Bharatiya Kisan Union Arajnaitik, Digambar Singh, told TOI that despite repeated complaints by villagers, preventive measures proposed by the authorities remain on paper. "The lack of preparedness and delayed response by officials has turned a preventable disease into a full-blown crisis, leaving farmers to bear the cost. My own cattle has been affected, reducing their milk production," he said.Bijnor's chief veterinary officer (CVO), Lokesh Agarwal, refuted the allegations, insisting that vaccination of livestock had been carried out as part of a drive. "In some areas, farmers refused to vaccinate their cattle due to lack of awareness, assuming that their cows would produce less milk if vaccinated," he said.Agarwal said that FMD is not fatal, particularly for adult cows, and that in some cases cattle may die when they're infected with more than two viruses. "Teams will be sent to the affected areas to investigate the cases and treat the cattle," he added.FMD is known to be a highly contagious viral infection causing fever and painful blisters in the mouth and on feet, leading to drooling and lameness. It severely reduces milk/meat production and is often fatal for calves. It spreads easily by contact, contaminated items or wind and is managed through strict biosecurity, quarantine and vaccination.