A month-long free vaccination drive against peste des petits ruminants (PPR) disease for goats and sheep will be conducted at veterinary clinics and hospitals in Vellore from Monday onwards (April 29).
In her order, Collector V.R.Subbulaxmi said the vaccination drive was aimed at preventing any outbreak of the disease due to the extreme heat prevailing in the district. Under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Scheme, the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries will cover around 1.3 lakh goats and sheep as part of the drive. “Generally, vaccination against the disease is done regularly depending on its availability. In Vellore, the month-long drive will benefit dairy farmers to a large extent,” said Dr. G. Anbuvan, Assistant Director (AD), Department of Animal Husbandry (Vellore).
As per norms under the National Digital Livestock Mission Blueprint, vaccinated animals will be equipped with bar-coded ear tags with vaccination details. The Collector urged dairy farmers to take part in the drive.
The PPR disease was caused by a highly virulent strain of viruses transmitted through urine, tears and manure of infected animals. Affected sheep will develop lesions on the mouth, tongue and gums. Goats will have watery eyes, nose and mouth along with sneezing and cough, officials said.
