The people of Lunana in Gasa lose their young yaks to Gid locally known as Gu-Yum disease every year. More than 10 yaks succumbed to the disease last year.
Gid is a disease of the central nervous system in yaks and sheep caused by Coenurus cerebralis. The larval stage of tapeworm Taenia multiceps infects the small intestine of carnivores.
Yak dogs among other canine species are considered as the main host for adult Gid tapeworm in the country. Highlanders use dogs to control and protect yaks from wild predators. In the process, the yaks are infected by the dogs’ faeces contaminated with the parasite.
“These faeces are consumed by the yaks while grazing and gets infected with gid,” Kinley Penjor, the Livestock In-charge of Lunana, said
If infected with gid and not treated on time, young calves will lose diet, suffer depression, paralysis, and will succumb to a slow, painful death.
“If we are not able to give de-worming medicines and injections in time, some yaks live up to six months or a year only. Some even die in three months of infection. But if they have ingested the parasite, it is very difficult to save them with medicines. We have to perform a surgery to remove the parasite,” Kinley Penjore said.
In the past 15 years, over 9,500 yaks died of the gid in the country.
Today, with various intervention programmes carried out by the gewog, the number of yak calves being infected with Gu-Yum is kept in check.
Apart from sensitizing people about vaccinating calves on time, the livestock extension office in Lunana carries out de-worming of dogs, and population control measures of wild dogs.
