In an attempt to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases among people associated with livestock, for the first time Animal Husbandry Department and Department of social and preventive medicine GMC Srinagar today signed a memorandum of understanding on a collaborative research programme on Brucellosis disease.The memorandum was ratified between Principal Secretary Animal, Sheep, Fisheries and Transport Department Dr Asghar Hassan Samoon and Head of Department of social and preventive medicine GMC Srinagar Muhammad Saleem Khan.Joint Director Institute of Animal Health and Biological Products Zakura Dr Tahir Ahmed Beigh, Deputy Director Poultry Dr Altaf Alaie, Principal Investigator Animal Husbandry Department Dr Gowhar Nabi Gora and other officers of GMC and Animal Husbandry Department were also present.The collaboration would take up the study of the Zoonotic impact of the disease and identification of high-risk groups in the valley. With the start of the study, the SPM and GMC team will start screening the animal rearers, Veterinarians and Para-veterinary staff.
It was decided the collaboration would be carried through the office of the Joint Director of Institute of Animal health and Biological Products Zakura and head of the Department of Social And Preventive Medicine GMC.Dr Samoon also inaugurated the newly commissioned ELISA lab at the institute to provide diagnostic support system at the molecular level to the field for confirmatory diagnosis.He highlighted the importance of the biological products and disease diagnostic wings of the institute in the prevention of economically important diseases like Black Quarter(BQ), Haemorrhagic Septicemia(HS), Fowl duck Cholera(FDC), Anthrax etc . “Laboratories need to be strengthened for diagnosis, monitoring, surveillance and outbreak control or containment operations of the diseases so that the farmers won't incur losses,” he said.While having a detailed review of the research facilities, Dr Samoon said that laboratories need to be equipped with modern technologies and research should be carried out to put a check on the spread of communicable diseases in the state.On the occasion, Dr Samoon also released Animal Disease Monitoring and Surveillance(ADMAS) annual report, Foot and Mouth Disease(FMD) status paper (Kashmir) for year 2018-19 and Standard Operating Procedures( SOP’s) for Foot and Mouth Disease Control Programme(FMD-CP), under which subsidized vaccination against the disease would be taken up to safeguard the interests of the farming community.