IMPHAL, May 10: Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department is continuing vaccination of cattle and buffalo at the tune of 4-5 lakhs, 2-3 lakhs pigs and 10-15 lakhs poultry and 1.5-2 lakhs dogs annually, informed Directorate of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) in a press release.
It said that outbreaks of Economically Important Livestock Diseases like Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and Classical Swine Fever are under strict vigil of the Department.
Vaccination to Cattle and Buffalo including poultry birds and pet animals is a regular practice under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme—Assistance to States for Control of Animal Disease (ASCAD). Prevention and Control of Economically Important Diseases and also control of emergent and exotic diseases etc. are components of the ASCAD scheme, the department explained.
Animal and Poultry Health Care is now undertaken in the 55 Veterinary Hospitals including nine District Veterinary Hospitals, 109 Vety Dispensaries and 34 Veterinary Aid Centres where treatment, vaccination and immunization carried out.
In order to facilitate door steps Animal Aids, the Department has procured and distributed Nine Ambulatory Vehicles and 15 Motor Bike to all the Districts and Sub-Division Veterinary Hospitals, it conveyed.
It is said, under NLCPR (Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources), the Department has constructed one Veterinary Hospitals in each District with the cost Rs.734.24 lakhs. It has also taken up construction of building less 23 numbers of Veterinary Hospitals and 48 numbers of Veterinary Dispensaries with the Central Assistance of Rs. 857.30 lakhs under Establishment and Strengthening of Veterinary Hospitals and Dispensaries (ESVHD) during 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Apart from prevention of other emergent and zoonotic diseases, the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry including Dairy Development is taking up various schemes including Livestock and Poultry Development for enhancement of Livestock and Poultry Products such as Milk, Meat and Eggs.
Livestock is an important sector giving employment to the rural masses, women, educated and uneducated youths. The importance of Livestock and Poultry as a major contributing factor in Agriculture Sector of the country is now well recognized, it added.
It is worth to recall that a Vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease causing wide micro-organism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins or one of its surface proteins. And the administration of vaccines is called Vaccination.