By Hina Kiyani
ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government is expanding and modernizing diagnostic facilities for livestock across the province to ensure the early detection and effective control of major animal diseases.
Dr Haider Ali Khan, Director at the Punjab Livestock Department, stated that 133 ultrasound machines would be provided to tehsil-level veterinary hospitals in all 41 districts of the province.
In addition, 10 portable X-ray machines will be supplied to divisional veterinary hospitals to strengthen their diagnostic capacity.
He said veterinary hospitals and dispensaries were being upgraded in phases to enhance their ability to diagnose and manage livestock diseases more efficiently. Punjab currently operates 2,508 veterinary treatment facilities, including 754 civil veterinary hospitals, 1,754 civil veterinary dispensaries, 202 mobile veterinary dispensaries, and 43 mobile veterinary laboratories.
According to the 7th Agricultural Census 2024, Punjab is home to the largest livestock population in Pakistan, with more than 104 million animals, including 16.9 million cattle, 14.2 million buffaloes, 13.3 million sheep, and 31.3 million goats.
Dr Haider Ali Khan said the government was also equipping district and divisional hospitals with modern surgical theatres, ultrasonography units, and portable X-ray systems to improve emergency and routine animal care. He revealed that 15 Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD)-free compartments were being developed across Punjab to ensure that meat produced in the province meets international health and safety standards.
“The establishment of these FMD-free zones will not only improve livestock health but also reduce production losses,” he said. “This will help Punjab’s meat exports gain better access to food-deficient markets in the Middle East.”
Livestock experts have welcomed the initiative, noting that enhanced diagnostic capabilities will ease longstanding challenges for breeders who often rely on under-equipped treatment centres.
Dr Irshad Muhammad Khan, former professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, identified major diseases affecting bovine and small ruminants in Punjab, including FMD, Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), Hemorrhagic Septicemia, tick-borne illnesses, Enterotoxemia, Caprine Pleuropneumonia, and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR).
He said the new initiative will help cope with these diseases in the province. Veterinary specialists welcomed the move to establish state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratories at the district level. “At present, the only modern public-sector diagnostic labs are at UVAS Lahore and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad,” Dr Wasif Umair, a veterinary pathologist who operates a private laboratory in Lahore, told Wealth Pakistan. “Most livestock farmers cannot afford private testing, which is why establishing district-level public diagnostic labs by Punjab government will help the livestock sector in a great way,” he added.
