BATHINDA, Sept. 16 -- The Punjab animal husbandry department has intensified surveillance and launched aggressive vaccination drives across the state following the detection of 216 cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD). Officials said the state went on high alert after outbreaks were reported in neighbouring Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, followed by a recent central government warning regarding cases surfacing in Uttar Pradesh. LSD cases started surfacing in Punjab last month after four years, when nearly 18,000 cattle perished in various districts in 2022. As per the official information, 216 livestock were found infected with the deadly viral disease in the past few weeks, but no mortality has been recorded to date due to LSD. Experts say that the LSD is caused by a vector-transmitted virus of the capripoxvirus genus in the poxviridae family. The symptoms are nodules of two-to-five centimetre diameter all over the body, particularly around the head, neck, limbs, udder and genitals. The lumps gradually open up like large and deep wounds. Apart from close contact of an infected animal with a naive animal, the disease mainly spreads through blood-feeding vectors like biting flies, ticks and mosquitoes. Rains and floods provide a conducive atmosphere for insect growth. The infection also spreads rapidly with multiplication of infected vectors, they said. State animal husbandry department's joint director and nodal officer for the LSD containment programme Sham Singh said on Tuesday that the situation is under control in Punjab and there was no need to panic the livestock owners. He said that LSD infects cows, and buffaloes are not known for catching the viral infection. Singh said that the state government was alerted on Monday by the Union government that after Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, LSD cases have also been reported in Uttar Pradesh. "Punjab has a cow population of 23 lakh and nearly 94% of them have been vaccinated since the last week of August, when a mass vaccination was launched. A total of 216 cases were reported from the pockets in Pathankot, Mohali and Patiala. But all infected animals recovered within 3-4 days," he said....