Haryana has become the first state in the country to introduce Raksha Biovac, a combined vaccine to immunise cattle against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS). It has passed the “challenge test” too. The state has covered about 60 lakh cattle twice for two doses across all 22 districts of the state.

Earlier, the department used to vaccinate animals four times in a year — two times for the prevention of FMD and two times for HS. It used to lead to great stress to animals while involving higher cost and manpower, and acceptability issues among farmers.

What is FMD?

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has very severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals comparatively easily through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, feed, and by domestic and wild predators.