Gujarat starts vaccination of Gir lions against deadly virus

•  The Gujarat forest department Sunday started vaccination of lions in the Gir sanctuary to protect them from a deadly virus blamed for the death of some of the big cats in their last abode.
• As many as 23 lions have died in Gujarat's Gir sanctuary in less than a month. Most of them have succumbed to canine distemper virus (CDV) and protozoa infections.
• The Gir sanctuary falls under the Junagadha district forest department's jurisdiction.
• Only those lions which are in the forest department's captivity are being vaccinated at present. Following the death of big cats, the forest department had captured 36 lions and shifted them to Jashadhar and Jamwala rescue centres in the Gir forest as a precautionary measure.
• After the CDV spread was confirmed in Asiatic lions, the state government had urgently imported 300 shots of the vaccine against the virus from the US.

What is Canine Distemper Virus?

• Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) is a viral disease that infects the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and central nervous systems. Dogs who have not been vaccinated for Canine Distemper are the most at-risk. While the disease can also be contracted when improperly vaccinated or when a dog has high susceptibility to bacterial infection, these cases are rare.
• CDV can be spread through direct contact (licking, breathing air, etc.) or indirect contact (bedding, toys, food bowls, etc.), though it cannot live on surfaces for very long. Inhaling the virus is the primary method of exposure. There is no known cure for CDV

By: Vishal