By Our Correspondent
Hetauda, ​ Jan. 17: A vaccination drive against PPR in sheep and goats is going to be launched in all districts of Bagmati Province.
After a large number of sheep and goats started dying every year due to PPR disease, the Bagmati Province government has started preparations to vaccinate the animals against PPR disease in 13 districts of the province from the second week of February.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development of the province has said that the vaccination campaign against PPR disease will begin from February 8, as the farmers were facing financial loss due to the death of their sheep and goats every year.

PPR is a deadly contagious disease of sheep and goats which is also called cholera of sheep and goats.
Animal Development Officer at the Ministry Basudev Nath said that the disease has been seen in all districts of Nepal and vaccination against PPR has been carried out since the fiscal year 2000-2001.

He said that although the death rate is low when the disease reappeared in the old place, the fatality rate among sheep and goats is 80 per cent when the disease spreads in the newer places.
There is no specific treatment. The most effective way to control the diseases is through a mass vaccination campaign, he said.
"We have started implementing the action plan 2078 by conducting a weekly vaccination campaign for the prevention and control of PPR disease in sheep and goats," he said.

According to the action plan, health workers to administer the vaccines will be selected and appointed within the working area by January 29, publicity, vaccination and vaccination materials will be provided to the vaccination centres from January 29 to February 5, high risk areas will be identified and the vaccination will begin giving priority to the most affected areas.
Animal Development Officer Nath said that the vaccination campaign against PPR disease at the local level will conclude on February 14.

He said that the Federal government would provide the vaccines against PPR by identifying the farmers who have reared more than 20 sheep. 
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for the fiscal year 2019/20, the number of sheep in Bagmati was 93,639 and the number of goats was 2,351,217.
According to statistics, more sheep in Bagmati are reared in Rasuwa and goats in Makwanpur.

Under the campaign, the Ministry plans to generate awareness among the people to reduce PPR infection in their sheep and goats, identify those animals which are not infected with other diseases and issue vaccine cards to the farmers by keeping records of their sheep and goats.