The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Vaccine developed for bluetongue disease

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 25, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Vaccine developed for bluetongue disease

Special Correspondent

A boon to sheep farmers, says Minister

CHENNAI: Vaccine for the dreaded bluetongue, a major viral disease affecting sheep, has been developed by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS).

Releasing the vaccine at a seminar-cum-exhibition, organised by the university at Kattupakkam, about 35 km from here on Wednesday, Animal Husbandry Minister P.V. Damodhiran claimed that the university was the pioneer in developing a vaccine for the disease.

The vaccine would be a boon to farmers who were rearing sheep as the morbidity rate of the disease was as high as 80 per cent.

He said the vaccine would be made available to farmers at all district animal husbandry centres.

The Minister also released new strains of turkey, Japanese quail and a technical manual on livestock production technologies.

He wanted the varsity to conduct a similar exhibition and seminar in southern districts.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, N. Balaraman, said the main purpose of the exhibition was to explain various successful research activities of the university for gainful utilisation of the farmers.

The secretary of the Animal Husbandry Department, Vishwanath Shegaonkar, appealed to farmers to make the best of such seminars and exhibitions conducted by the department from time to time.

Earlier there was a question and answer session in which doubts raised by farmers on various issues concerning animal husbandry were cleared by university officials.

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