FMD Vaccination in Farmers’ Perspective
Aditya Prasad Sahoo, Basavaraj Sajjanar, Sabarinath Thankappan, Gnanavel Venkatesan, Ajayta Rialch
Foot and Mouth Disease:
India has vast resources of livestock which play an important role in improving the socio-economic conditions of rural population. There are about 30.3 crore bovines (cattle, buffalo, mithun and yak), 7.4 crore sheep, 14.8 crore goats, 0.9 crore pigs as per 20th Livestock Census in the country. In India, Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is one of the most common disease of livestock which hamper livestock production leading to huge economic loss. FMD commonly known as ‘muh paka’ and ‘khur paka’ is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, buffalo, goat and pig. There are several economic losses due to FMD such as value of milk lost, loss of draught power, costs of treatment and death in young calves. In addition, there are indirect losses due to the non-acceptance of milk and milk products, meat and skin of affected animals. FMD infected animal initially show fever, drooling of saliva and reluctance to move. Fluid filled blisters (vesicle) appear on the lips, tongue, palate, between and above the hooves on the feet and teats. These blisters eventually burst exposing raw, painful ulcers. Infected animal excretes FMD virus in breath, saliva, mucus, milk and faeces. FMD spreads rapidly from one animal to another, through inhalation, ingestion and direct contact with infected animals. Farms with mixed-husbandry practices of rearing cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs together provides a favourable condition for FMD spread. FMD control measures include mass vaccination, timely outbreak reporting and response, prompt biosecurity measure like isolation and treatment of livestock, control of livestock movements, disinfection of affected farm, cattle shed, vehicles and use of extension services to improve farmer knowledge on FMD disease.
Production loss due to FMD:
India is the largest producer of milk in the world, with an annual production of about 21 crore tonnes (2020-21). FMD disease causes severe production losses due to reduced milk yields, death of young calves, abortions, lameness, loss of weight in growing animals and permanent foot or udder damage. Drop of milk production in infected milking cows is one of the most important signs of an FMD outbreak. High producing exotic and crossbred animals are more severely affected as these animals are more susceptible to FMD. The production losses in these cows are much higher in comparison to local cattle.
Approximately 66% of the population of India is lives in rural area and majority of household are engaged in agriculture with mixed cultivation and small livestock holder. Livestock play a key role in the efficiency and profitability of smallholder farming systems. More than 80% of indigenous animals are owned by small and marginal farmers and landless workers. The estimated annual financial loss due to FMD in India is nearly 20000 crore rupees. FMD outbreaks reported round the year, but are most common in the post-monsoon season. Infectious livestock disease outbreaks are particularly common among animals of smallholder farmers as a result of their close proximity to neighbouring animals, the use of shared grazing lands and water resources, limited access to vaccinations for livestock, as well as the absence of biosecurity measures. As a result of FMD outbreaks, smallholder farmers face more financial hardship due to reduction in milk yield and costs of treatment of sick animals. Furthermore, lameness and anorexia reduce productivity, and draught animals may not be able to work for a prolonged period, further decreasing smallholder farmers’ productivity by delaying cultivation activities.
FMD Vaccination in farmers perspective
FMD is a preventable disease provided the animals are vaccinated on time. Vaccination of livestock has the potential to reduce the frequency and severity of disease outbreaks. Timely and effective vaccination can reduce animal suffering and improve profitability of animal keeper. Several measures have been initiated by the Government to increase the productivity of livestock, which has resulted in increasing milk production significantly. Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the “National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis (NADCP)”, with a total budget of Rs.13,343 crore for five years (2019-24). Livestock health and disease control is being implemented with the aim to reduce risk to animal health by prophylactic vaccination against FMD, capacity building of veterinary services, disease surveillance and strengthening veterinary infrastructure. The scheme aimed at vaccinating 100% of the cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig population across the country against FMD and brucellosis.
There are several factors which hamper the successful control of FMD like unregulated transboundary movement of livestock and their products, difficulties implementing vaccination programmes, limited farmer knowledge on FMD disease and vaccination, failure of timely outbreak reporting and response. The field performance of an FMD vaccine depends on several factors such as maintenance of cold chains, selection of the appropriate vaccine virus strains, correct vaccine administration procedures and efficient vaccination programme strategies. Strict monitoring is required to achieve desired vaccination coverage targets for effective FMD suppression in mass vaccination programmes. In addition, lack of awareness of the need for vaccination, poor knowledge of immunisation schedules, busy daily schedules and fear of adverse reaction of vaccination, poor access to vaccination services and difficulty presenting animals. Vaccination coverage is the estimated percentage of animals which have received vaccines. Vaccine coverage of 80% or greater can be considered good for prevention of disease transmission in a population through herd immunity. It happens when a sufficient percentage of livestock population has become immune to FMD infection through or vaccination, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection for individuals who lack immunity. Once the herd immunity has been reached, disease gradually disappears from population. Herd immunity created by vaccination has contributed to the control of many diseases. Vaccine acquired herd immunity is more important for the population than the individual, and is the most practical method to supress disease transmission. FMD eradication programmes in the region should also include public awareness campaigns to promote the benefits of FMD vaccination and disease control measures with an objective of improving farmer incomes. Dates and times of vaccination in each village should be well publicised to avoid confusion. Increased knowledge of advantages of FMD vaccination significantly increase in vaccination coverage. Farmers should also aware of biosecurity measure which will improve the long-term sustainability of disease control.
It is often challenging to achieve a level of vaccine coverage that affords adequate control of disease spread through herd immunity. It occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through previous infections or vaccination, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection for individuals who lack immunity. Once the herd immunity has been reached, disease gradually disappears from a population and may result in eradication or permanent reduction of infections to zero if achieved worldwide. Herd immunity created via vaccination has contributed to the reduction of many diseases.
Unfortunately, vaccination coverage has been poor in certain states of India leading to lower levels of vaccine induced herd immunity in terms of antibody levels in the cattle population, and this has been related to increased FMD outbreaks. States where six monthly vaccination is practiced there has been a reduction in cases of FMD. Lack of FMD vaccination has translated into increase in number of outbreaks of the foot and mouth disease. Vaccination with good quality vaccine gives protection to vaccinated animals within one to two weeks after vaccination. Vaccination with good quality FMD vaccines can help to prevent losses in livestock production and reduce the overall incidence of the disease. Vaccination protect animal from FMD for six months and hence at least two vaccinations in a year are recommended for protection against FMD. Six monthly or biannual vaccination of the cattle with inactivated FMD vaccine is the control strategy in endemic countries like India. Dairy farmers should be made aware of young calf vaccination protocol to ensure its growth into a healthy dairy cow at a comparatively early stage. For FMD age at first dose of vaccine should be 4 months and above and booster should be administered 28-30 days after the first dose. Subsequent vaccination should be given six monthly interval as normal vaccination protocol for effective protection.
At field condition farmers are reluctant to vaccinate animal fearing adverse effect of vaccination on animal health and decrease in milk yield after vaccination. Very few animals may show adverse reaction to vaccine like swelling at site of injection, fever and transient drop in milk yield. However, this is not always the case for all animals that are vaccinated. Veterinary doctors, paraveterinary staff, and other animal health workers may inadvertently transmit FMD virus from infected animals to healthy animals via their clothing, footwear, etc. Hence, prior to handling healthy animals, it is a good idea to thoroughly clean hands with soap. Each animal should be vaccinated using a new needle. False assumption and apprehension dissuade farmer vaccinating animals. This apathy towards vaccination drives many a times lead to FMD outbreak in cattle and this in turn badly affect livestock production.
FMD being a viral disease there is no particular medicine available for treatment. However, FMD can be prevented by vaccination which protect the animal from catching the disease. In Furthermore, vaccination also lower severity of the disease with shorter recovery time. Preventive biannual vaccination is the best option available to fight with the disease.
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