Coronavirus: J&K under threat with no policy to dispose animal carcasses

Reliable sources here told UNI that highly contagious coronavirus is found in animals, especially, dogs and the people having pets are advised to get the animals vaccinated from time to time.

“We don’t have a planned policy to dispose off dead animals in Jammu and Kashmir and this is the reason that often we find such animals in garbage dumps, along the river banks and roadsides. Many dogs die in road accidents but thereafter not disposed off,” sources said.

The new strain of coronavirus — 2019-nCoV — was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, located in the Hubei province, in December, which has claimed more than 304 lives.

The death toll in China from the new coronavirus reached 213 on Friday, with overall cases worldwide rising rapidly in an outbreak that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency.

The infection spreads through sneezing, feces,  secretions and even through skin of the dogs, cats and other animals and these animals should be disposed properly to prevent an epidemic,” sources in  the Veterinary Hospital told UNI and added, “barring pet dogs (that too  few), many people dispose dead canines in open, which poses threat  of spreading epidemic if left unchecked.”

“The department is already injecting corona vaccination to dogs and from past few days, after an  alert was sounded, the exercise has been intensified,” they said and  added that animals especially the dogs can cause rabies, hepatitis,  influenza, leptospirosis, viral/fungal infections, skin and corona.

“The  government should have a facility of crematories (a furnace where a  corpse can be burned and reduced to ashes) to completely dispose off  dead animals like it happens in metro cities,” they said and added that  in case if any animal is buried, hydrated lime and salt should also be  mixed to completely decomposes the carcass.

“Jammu Municipal  Corporation has established one house in Roop Nagar locality where the  stray animals like cattle, dogs, cats, pigs are looked after but the  more important is that how they are disposed off after deaths,” they  said.

Sources further said that in dogs, Canine Enteric Coronavirus  Vaccine is injected and the disease is found in dogs less than six weeks of age.

“It has not been possible to reproduce the infection  experimentally, unless immunosuppressive doses of glucocorticoids are  administered,” they said.

Municipal Veterinary Officer, Dr Zaffar  Iqbal told UNI, “We have animal disposing facility but only within  the municipal limits.”

“The dead animals are shifted to Kot Bhawal  area in city outskirts and are buried properly so that they do not pose  threat to the habitants nearby,” he said.

“We are soon coming up with crematories (electric machines) to dispose off dead  animals, for which proposal has already been submitted,” the MVO said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam has recently  reviewed the preparedness of Health department to deal with novel  Coronavirus across the Union Territory.

The Chief Secretary has urged the  Health Department to remain on high alert and work in close  coordination with Divisional and District Administrations and officers  of security at the Srinagar and Jammu Airports and Railway stations to  deal with any suspected case of coronavirus on a real time basis.

“The  World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Coronavirus as a  Global Health Emergency, therefore, there is an emergent need to be  geared up to meet any eventuality,” Chief Secretary observed.

“Advisory to all hoteliers especially in Kashmir division should be issued to  track travel history of people coming from foreign countries in general  and China in particular in past few weeks,” Chief Secretary observed.

The Chief  Secretary asked FC (Health) to especially focus on training part,  including Sampling, Quarantine, Bio-Medical Waste disposal and Mortuary  Management, so as to avoid any possible infection to the health staff dealing with such cases.

He assured that all required  facilities and support will be provided to enable the Health Department to deal with the cases of Corona virus effectively.