The government will lift the ‘red alert’ on anthrax spread today, which was issued last month by the Livestock Department as the disease was spreading alarmingly throughout the country, ministry suspected interest group, who were engaged in recent hike in poultry prices by spreading rumors, propaganda and negative publicity.
“The red alert may be lifted at a press conference to be held in the morning at my office,” Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdul Latif Biswas told The New Nation yesterday.
The minister alleged that the negative publicity on anthrax disease was launched as part of a conspiracy, which was targeted to destroy the country’s livestock resources.
“It is a preventive disease if the cattle can be brought under vaccination. But it is true, each year a lot of cattle and birds are killed by the disease,” the ministry added.
Drawing a comparison to the anthrax spread, he said in 2008, 437 cows were affected by anthrax and 156 died. In 2009, 449 were affected and 114 died. This year, until now, only 104 cows have been infected of which 37 died. Another 11 cows were culled.
In 2008, 945 cows out of 1,346 infected by ‘badla’, 203 cows out of 32,701 infected by ‘khura’ and 1,843 out of 36,842 infected with PPR died.
In 2009, 611 cows out of 1,123 infected by badla, 6,020 cows out of around two and half lakhs infected by khura, and 3,491 of out 53,519 infected with PPR died.
In the current year, until now, 89 out of 237 affected by Badla, 83 out of 4,135 affected by Khura and 231 out of 4,359 infected by PPR have died.
“No report of anthrax infection among livestock has reached us from the middle of last month. So we have decided to withdraw the red alert,” he added.Via
