Sindh’s Livestock and Fisheries Department has developed a vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), a viral skin infection that has put over 100 million cattle in the country at risk.

According to details, the vaccine is currently in final-stage clinical trials and has produced intended results so far. The local production of the vaccine will start in March next year.

Speaking in this regard, Secretary Sindh Livestock and Fisheries Department, Tameezuddin Khero, said that the last-stage clinical trials will be completed by the end of this year and local production will begin afterward.

The Department had also set up a building in Karachi’s Korangi area. The building is equipped with modern equipment that enabled the Department’s researchers to conduct fast-paced research. The production of the vaccine will also take place in the same building.

LSD was first discovered among cattle in Zambia in 1929. The disease broke out in Sindh towards the end of 2021. So far, LSD has infected more than 52,000 animals in the province, killing around 600 of them.

The Sindh government had initially imported 2 million doses of LSD vaccine from Turkey at a cost of Rs. 500 million.

Source: Pro Pakistan