NET WEB DESK

Residents of Kurung Kumey have informed the authorities that foot and mouth disease (FMD) has resurfaced among the mithun population of the Nyapin circle of Kurung Kumey district in Arunachal Pradesh.

This is causing hardship for the mithun owners. Last April, FMD was reported in many districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

The highly infectious FMD affects cloven-hoofed animals. The viral disease causes a high fever lasting two-six days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet. At times, the disease becomes fatal.

To assess the extent of the FMD outbreak reported from central Papum Pare district to eastern Anjaw district, different teams had been deputed by the state’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (AHV) Department.

Locals have claimed that at least a dozen Mithuns have died in Riga, Pangkong, Riew, and Sitang villages of Siang district, though the number had not been verified by AHV. The concentration of infected animals was in the districts nurtured by the Siang River, although the outbreak was reported from many districts, said the AHV Deputy Director Tachi Taku.

Adding that the second phase vaccination would start soon, he had said, “We had vaccinated more than 1,00,000 animals in the first phase in October 2020. Veterinary officers have reported FMD in some vaccinated cattle and pigs, but the mithuns are the most affected.”

Since the free-ranging mithuns (Bos frontalis), graze in the jungles and return occasionally to their owners, it could be a reason behind the infection among them as it leads to difficulty in vaccinating said the district-level veterinary officials.

After the African swine fever, this is the second outbreak of an animal disease in NE this year. The African swine fever had killed more than 1,200 pigs in Mizoram, causing a loss of about Rs 5 crore to farmers in four affected districts in the state.