Mumbai: BMC to inspect city’s stables, cow shelters to curb spread of lumpy skin disease

Lumpy skin disease spreads through mosquitoes and flies. Representation pic

To curb the spread of lumpy skin disease in cattle, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to screen every tabela (stable) and gau shala (cow shelter) in the city and inspect every animal.

There are around 20 cow shelters and more than 1,500 tabelas in the city. A team comprising BMC doctors, an official of the insecticide department and a veterinary doctor will visit tabelas and cow shelters," said K L Pathan, head of BMC's animal husbandry department.

"Till date, no case of lumpy skin disease has been recorded in Mumbai," he added.

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The team will also inspect areas around tabelas and cow shelters. "If we find them to be unclean, we will issue a notice and ask them to make proper arrangements for cleanliness," said the official.

Pathan said that since the BMC did not give licences for tabelas earlier, it is not possible to state their exact number. "But there are around 1,500 such stables in the city," he said. Officials will also inform owners and caretakers about the symptoms of the disease. "If they are found in their cattle, treatment can be started immediately," he added.

According to veterinarians, lumpy skin disease spreads through mosquitoes and flies as well as contaminated food.

1,500
Estimated number of stables in the city