INTRODUCTION
Animal
Husbandry occupies an important place in Indian economy and livestock plays a
vital role in the life of rural people. The Animal Husbandry department is
making all efforts for livestock development. The department is implementing
different Animal Husbandry programmes like Feeding, Breeding, Management as
well as Marketing in scientific methods, in order to safe-guard the
livestock and poultry from different diseases and to provide better health
coverage and breeding facilities. This Department is successful in discharging
its duties and functions with its network of various categories of Veterinary
Institutions, in the State. The Department has many activities such as the
development of Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep and Goats, Poultry, besides Fodder resources,
Extension and training, Implementation of socio-economic programmes. In
addition, the department conducts Integrated Sample Survey annually and
Livestock Census quinquennially.
NATIONAL ANIMAL DISEASE
REPORTING SYSTEM (NADRS)
Under this Scheme, it is proposed to introduce an online disease reporting
system in the country in the form of National Animal Disease Reporting System
(NADRS). In the proposed system, a dedicated computer network will be
established linking each Block of the District to the District head quarter,
each District of the State to the State headquarter, and each State to the
Country's Central Unit. The information available at the Block level would be
electronically transmitted to the District Veterinary office as well as the
State office. Finally from all the States the information would be compiled and
transmitted to the Centre at the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The objectives of Animal Husbandry Department in this
project are:-
- To increase the productivity of livestock in the sub basins.
- To provide veterinary services and breeding support at the farmers door step or nearest to the farmers door steps.
- To ensure complete cattle protection (Disease prevention and Cure).
- To increase the conception and calving rate in bovines.
- To reduce the gap between the availability and demand for fodder.
- To increase awareness among farmers in best animal care techniques.
Prompt reporting of any
epidemic is essential not only for
undertaking immediate control measures to prevent the further spread of the
disease, but also for formulating long term disease control strategy in the
country or region. Recording the incidence of diseases is essential for
estimating the economic loss, conducting risk analysis and also for obtaining
disease free status of the country. Under this Scheme, it is proposed to
introduce an online disease reporting system in the country in the form of
National Animal Disease Reporting System (NADRS). In the proposed system, a dedicated computer network will be
established linking each Block of the District to the District head quarter,
each District of the State to the State headquarter, and each State to the Country’s
Central Unit. The information available at the Block level would be
electronically transmitted to the District veterinary office as well as the
State office. Finally from all the States the information would be compiled and
transmitted to the Centre at the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The computer linkages would reduce data transmission time as well as data
compilation and report generation.
Early Detection of Animal Diseases – A
Need Statement:
Early
detection is the key to success in handling animal disease epidemics. If a
disease can be detected very early in the phase of epidemic development, the
possibility exists that it can be arrested and eliminated before it actually
inflicts damage. Early detection presupposes that there is a surveillance
system in place that will bring infection to light when it is first seen. The
country's veterinary authorities are then placed in the position of being able
to manage the problem before it becomes uncontrollable, thus protecting the
local livestock industry and ensuring food security for those closely dependent
upon livestock.
Early
detection enables early warning and an early reaction. Surveillance is the
primary key to effective disease management. The sooner a disease is found
before it makes progress along the epidemic curve, the better. The developing
world is full of examples of countries with devastated livestock agriculture
and severe economic losses incurred as a result of having found out too late.
Surveillance
has other roles, as well. One of these is monitoring the spread of a disease in
order to manage it effectively. Knowing how fast a disease is spreading, in
which directions it is going and the size of the populations threatened are all
key factors in resource mobilization. One needs to know how much vaccine to
purchase, how many staff to deploy and where they should be deployed, the
length of the cold chain that will be involved, and so on. Even when a disease
is not present, but is the subject of regular vaccination campaigns (as in
buffer zones), good surveillance will give a good idea of where to vaccinate
and how many doses of vaccine to take along.
Surveillance
plays an important role in the monitoring of progress in control and
eradication programmes. It is important to have an idea of whether the
programme is successful (in other words, whether disease incidence is being
reduced) in order to assess the efficacy of the control mechanisms being used.
In this sense, surveillance becomes even more crucial during the eradication
phases of various diseases. In these phases, it becomes necessary to prove the
absence of a disease rather than to detect its presence: here, carefully
planned surveillance actions are of the utmost importance.
Hence
the proposed NADRS will facilitate address the issues related to enhanced food
security and the fight against trans boundary animal diseases. However, development of such system will require co-operation
from a number of stakeholders - the official veterinary service (management and
field staff), other extension staff, private veterinarians, farmers and other organizations
that might be operating on the ground, for example NGOs. In addition, properly
supervised sub-professional groups (veterinary assistants, auxiliaries and
community animal health workers and the like) are often important elements. It
will also require transparency, as those who are involved in data supply and
collection will want to see that the information they supply is actually put to
use.
The
proposed NADRS will eventually support to meet the following set of objectives;
- · The early detection of livestock diseases of economic/food security/public health importance Enabling early reaction to such diseases .
- Correct identification of resource needs in the field so that existing resources can be correctly deployed in disease management.
- provision of strategic decision-making support
- measurement of surveillance system performance
DISEASE PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, CONTROL AND ERADICATION
“Animal Health is Nation's Wealth ". Outbreak of diseases causes huge
economic losses to the farming community by way of livestock mortality and
decreased productivity. Outbreaks tend to affect the socio-economically under
privileged more than the well to do. Control and eradication of many animal
diseases is must, not only for profitable livestock production but also
essential to make our livestock and livestock products globally acceptable. As
farmers generally show interest only in curative veterinary practice and not in
prevention and control of diseases, the department plays a major role in
disease
Prevention and eradication. Systematic control of diseases will
progressively lead to its containment first and eradication ultimately. "Animal
Health is Nation's wealth". Outbreaks of diseases cause huge economic loss
to the farming community.
Animal Disease Intelligence Units
A disease surveillance system is essential to provide early warning signals
of outbreaks while epidemiology helps in systematic study of the distribution
and determinants of health problems. Moreover accurate disease diagnosis plays
a key role in strict monitoring and prevention of specific diseases.
DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES
Early forecasting of
diseases and surveillance is essential to provide ' early warning signals ' of
outbreaks while epidemiology helps in systematic study of the distribution and determinants
of health problems.
Animal Disease Intelligence Units:
They play a major role in
developing a system of disease monitoring and surveillance of all important
livestock and poultry diseases in the State. This in turn helps in evolving
strategic control measures. They map out the disease prone areas by collecting
epidemiological information and data. Based on their advisories, the field
veterinarians take adequate protective and prophylactic measures well in
advance.
In addition, in disease
outbreaks, they render technical assistance to field staff in diagnosis and
control of diseases. As systematic and periodical vaccination is the key for
prevention and control of various livestock diseases causing huge economic loss
to the farmers, the Department is giving prime importance to this component of
work by vaccinating the susceptible livestock They play a major role in developing a system of disease
monitoring and surveillance of all important livestock and poultry diseases in
the State. This in turn helps in evolving strategic control measures. They map
out the disease prone areas by collecting epidemiological information and data.
Based on their advisories, the field veterinarians take adequate protective and
prophylactic measures well in advance. In addition, in disease outbreaks, they
render technical assistance to field staff in diagnosis and control of
diseases.
