Panic created among the farmers in Noakhali as foot and mouth disease of cow's spread out in the district in recent times and many cows had already died due to lack of sufficient vaccine at the upazila livestock offices, locals said.
Subarnachar upazila livestock officer, Faisal Talukder, said that the cows were becoming the victim of the foot and mouth disease as the affected cows were coming from India through several frontiers of the district.
Tankeshar, a cow farmer of village Purbahazipur at the upazila, said that the foot and mouth disease of cow had spread out recently which created panic among the farmers. According to the farmers, many cows had already died due to lack of sufficient vaccine at the upazila livestock offices.
Acknowledging vaccine crisis, the Companiganj upazila livestock officer, Dr Abul Kalam, told New Age that they needed about 25 thousand dose vaccine of the foot and mouth disease but they had less than 15 thousand vaccine.
He alleged that the district livestock office was not supplying enough vaccine of the disease to the upazila livestock offices.
The Hatiya upazila livestock officer, Dr MG Abdul Halim, told New Age that at present a large number of mouth disease affected cows were being brought to Bangladesh from India through the frontiers.
'I need 30 thousand dose of vaccine for 55 thousand cattle of my upazila but after 3 to 4 month interval the district authority supply only 4 to 5 hundred doses,' he said.
The Kabirhat upazila livestock officer, Abul Kalam Azad, told New Age that generally mouth diseases spread out during rainy season but this time the disease had broken out before the season.
He also said that he needed 7 thousand dose of vaccine for 35 thousand cattle of his upazila. But at present they had only 1 thousand vaccines, he added.
The Senbag upazila livestock officer (in-charge), Gotom Kumar Kundu, told that the foot and mouth disease of cows had spread out at his upazila alarmingly. If the authority failed to supply enough vaccine, the cow's affected rate would increase as epidemic, he added.
When contacted, denying the allegation, the Noakhali district livestock officer, Gautam Kumar Kundu, told that there were 4,38,906 cow's in 9 upazilas of the district. 'The yearly demand of vaccine is near 1 lakh doses but we are getting in average 2500 doses per month,' he said.
He also claimed that the foot and mouth disease had appeared as the affected cows came to the district from India through several frontiers.
Source : New Age
