District collector Dr K Senthil Raj inaugurated the third phase of vaccination drive for dairy cattle against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) at Kumaragiri village on Wednesday. Under the National Animal Disease Control Programme, the animal husbandry department had launched the FMD vaccination for all cows, except for the calf and pregnant cows, in the district between March 1 to 21.

While inaugurating the vaccination drive at Sirupadu village in Kumaragiri panchayat, the collector said FMD infections can cause bulges on the mouth and legs of the cattle leading to lesser milk extraction. “Out of the 1,22,365 cattle enumerated in the latest district census, the Thoothukudi district administration has planned to vaccinate 1,10,000 cows.

As part of the drive, 1,28,000 single-use needles, 65,000 syringes and 1,10,000 vaccine doses have been stocked,” he said, adding that 43 groups have been deployed across the district to conduct the vaccination drives. Joint Director (Animal Husbandry) Dr S Sanjeeviraj, Deputy Director Dr R Radhakrishnan and others participated.