Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jan 5: In a worrying information, it is gathered that thanks to substandard vaccines, the vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease of the cattle that was administered to 1.15 crore animals in the state, has gone to waste. This information has come at a time when discussions about the quality of the coronavirus vaccine are being held everywhere.

Because of this faux pas, thousands of animals are suffering silently while about six to seven crore rupees given by the central government went waste.

 
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The union department of animal husbandry has said that the quality of vaccine used in the state was not good. It has written to the state government, alerting it about the quality of the vaccine. The vaccine had been acquired by the state government from Indian Immunological Ltd through tender. Samples of the vaccine tested by Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Veterinary Research Institute have confirmed that the quality of this vaccine was not good.

The central government spent about seven crore rupees in acquiring the vaccine and eight crore rupees in administering it. The efforts made by thousands of staff and amount spent have now gone down the drain.

The vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease was started by the central government under which the vaccine is administered twice a year from 2008. This disease has devastated thousands of farmers as it debilitates animals, sick cattle do not lactate, they cannot be used for agricultural operations and there is a high rate of death.

The central government has now asked the state to stop the current vaccination programme or start administering the vaccine again. Veterinary experts feel that if the vaccine is not administered again immediately, the disease can again raise its ugly head and become infectious.