Cattle epidemic: Chicken meat price skyrocket to Rs570 per kg

Following the outbreak of the lumpy skin disease in cattle, the price of chicken meat in Karachi has increased by more than Rs200 and being sold at Rs570 per kg, ARY News reported.

In Karachi, the price of chicken was recorded at Rs370 per kg for live bird and Rs570 per kg for meat.

During the month of February, a live bird was available at Rs190-210 per kg while the meat was sold at Rs350-380.

Sindh government also shut down cattle markets across the province amid the emergence of the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) epidemic caused by a vector-borne virus.

The Sindh government livestock and animal husbandry department has notified the closure of cattle markets, and also advised against consuming meat and milk of infected animals.

The livestock department had also advised cattle owners to separate their sick animals from healthy ones and frequently use an anti-mosquito spray to prevent animals from contracting LSD.

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According to the department, the Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is spread via spit and through insects.

Experts say that the disease is new to the region, so there is no existing vaccine that can be used against it. Animals infected from the disease have been shifted to cattle farms located at the highway and Bhens colony.

The fast spread of the disease and no vaccine has forced the department of livestock to temporarily shut down cattle markets across Sindh.