Taking a step closer towards realising the electoral promise of doubling farm income by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to launch the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) for eradicating the foot and mouth disease and brucellosis in livestock on Wednesday.

The project, which will cost  ₹12,652 crores for a period of five years till 2024, will be funded entirely by the government. The programme, to be launched in Mathura, aims to control the livestock diseases by 2025 and eradicate these by 2030.

Components

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) control programme: The programme envisages 100% vaccination coverage of cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs at six months interval in the entire country. Further, animals will be identified using unique animal identification ear tags. The programme also includes de-worming of targeted population of livestock twice a year as one of its activities.

Brucellosis control programme: The programme envisages 100% vaccination coverage of female cattle and buffalo calves (4-8 months of age) once in a life time.

Foot and Mouth Disease-Livestock

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer, and other cloven-hooved ruminants. FMD is not recognised as a zoonotic disease. The disease spreads very quickly if not controlled and because of this is a reportable disease.

Brucellosis

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Brucella(bru-CELL-a). Many different animal species and humans can become ill. Brucellosis is primarily a reproductive disease in animals, but it can also cause reoccurring fevers, arthritis or udder infection

Brucellosis causes reproductive problems (e.g. abortions, stillbirth, infertility) in most species of animals. Other signs can include arthritis in cows and pigs, mastitis and lameness in goats, and oozing skin lesions in horses (“fistulous withers”).