Chandigarh, May 5 (Inditop) The union territory of Chandigarh has been declared free of rabies and rinder pest, a disease that affects bovines, an official said here Tuesday.
“With no case of rinder pest disease being noticed, Chandigarh has been declared rabies and rinder pest free by the Government of India,” joint director of animal husbandry department A.V.S. Kohli said.
Rinder pest is an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo and some species of wildlife. Rabies is a viral neuroinvasive disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in warm-blooded animals.
He said: “We have also achieved success in controlling dreaded afflictions like foot-and-mouth disease and no case of these diseases has been reported in 2008-09.”
Besides, the city has also topped the targets set for livestock care.
Secretary of finance and animal husbandry Sanjay Kumar said: “With 14 veterinary hospitals and sub-centres, we have come a long way in providing healthcare to livestock population in the union territory estimated at 29,217. Here we have one veterinary unit available for every 2,447 heads of livestock.”
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