Vet dept to check 1,500 milk samples for Brucellosis in cattle in DK district

The contagious disease can affect human beings too, says officer

Milk Ring Test will be conducted on 1500 milk samples collected from the Dakshina Kannada Milk Union Ltd, bulk milk coolers, chilling centers, milk producers co-operative societies and private milk vendors, in order to find out the presence of Brucellosis disease in the cattle in the district. 

Informing the same at a technical workshop on National Control Programme on Brucellosis organised by Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, DKMUL, Veterinary Department and District Veterinary Doctors’ Association at DKMUL premises on Friday, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department Deputy Director Dr K V Halagappa said that the random survey is taken up as a part of a national initiative to check Brucellosis. Brucellosis is a contagious disease which not only affects the cattle, but also the human beings. This highly contagious zoonosis affects over five lakh people in the world every year, hence there is an urgent need to prevent the spread of the disease, he said.

He informed that with an objective to control the disease from spreading, the Central government has initiated National Control Programme on Brucellosis which is a five-year intensive location targeted control programme.

As many as 330 samples will be collected from Mangalore taluk on August 6, 390 samples will be collected from Belthangady taluk and 300 from Bantwal taluk on August 7, 330 from Puttur and 150 samples will be collected from Sullia on August 8, said Dr Halagappa.

Vaccination to calves

Further, he stated that steps will be taken to identify the cattle with the Brucellosis in the next phase of the programme. As the disease is mostly found in areas with high rainfall, the cattle in Dakshina Kannada district are prone to the disease. The cattle with Brucellosis are prone to abortions, loss of progeny and low milk yield. Following the tests conducted, the female calves from the villages where the traces of the disease is found in the milk sample, will be given B.abortus Calfhood S-19 vaccine, said Dr Halagappa.

Presiding over the programme DKMUL President Raviraj Hegde, stressed on the necessity to control the cattle diseases as cattle rearing is one of the main income generating occupations in the district. The district shelters 45 per cent of local breed cattle, 53 per cent mixed breed and one per cent foreign breed and buffaloes. “Though the service of Veterinary Department is considerably good in the district, the shortage of veterinary doctors in the district is causing problem,” he said.

Zilla Panchayat President K T Shailaja Bhat inaugurated the workshop. Veterinary Health and Organic Institute Bangalore Dr M D Venkatesh delivered a talk on ‘Sexually Transmitted Diseases in cattle and their control’ and Thirupathi Veterinary University Bangalore Retired Professor Dr Shivaramakrishanaih delivered a talk on ‘The role of herbals in veterinary practise.”