AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat forest department has zeroed in on the root cause of the spread of the canine distemper virus (CDV) which has been affecting Gir lions — the forest department will control the dog population in 20 villages around Sarasiya Virdi and Semardi Naka. The department has also sent fresh samples of 30 prides from Virdi area — a 250 sq km patch ravaged by the virus — to the National Institute of Virology.The forest department has called in dog sterilization experts of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Rajkot Municipal Corporation . A special operations room has been set up in Dhari forest office to oversee the sterilization of the dogs. Eleven dogs were sterilized on Friday.Bhavik Shah, the trustee of the Goal Foundation from Ahmedabad who is camping in Saurashtra, said: “We have been involved in dog sterilization in Ahmedabad and now we are focused around Dhari and Gir area. We are vaccinating and sterilizing dogs.”Officials of the forest department said that they have decided to sterilize dogs in 20 villages where the dogs had been vaccinated. “We are catching these dogs again and sterilizing them. The drive will be extended to the remaining 80 villages in a phased manner,” said a senior officer. “The vaccination drive too has been taken up in a phased manner.”The NIV had received 80 swabs from 27 Gir lions which were sick and under treatment and observation. An Indian Council of Medical Research statement said: “Specimens were again tested for CDV. One or more samples from 21 out of 27 Gir lions have tested positive for CDV. This indicates active disease transmission among the Gir lions.”Earlier, the forest department had received confirmation that of the 23 lions that had died four had tested positive for CDV, while 11 had tested positive for babesiosis.

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