Lumpy Skin disease is brought on by the Capripoxvirus virus, described in a document by GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, as “an increasing hazard to livestock worldwide.” It has genetic ancestry with the sheeppox and goatpox virus families. Livestock and water buffalo are primarily infected by LSD by vectors like blood-feeding flies.
Symptoms
- Circular, complex nodes that resemble lumps and form on the animal’s hide or skin are indicators of infection.
- Animals with the infection begin losing weight immediately and may also experience fever, oral sores, and decreased milk production. Abnormal nose and oral secretion are additional signs.
- Miscarriages occur mainly in pregnant buffaloes and cows; in some situations, ill animals may also die.
Factors behind the spread of the LSD
- Excessive temperatures and high humidity are linked to LSDV outbreaks. Although, outbreaks can also happen in the dry season.
- It is typically more common in low-lying places or close to water throughout the wet summer and fall months.
- Insects that feed on blood, including flies and mosquitoes, are mechanical disease carriers.
- There isn’t a single species of vector known. Rather, the pathogen has been identified from Tabanidae, Biomyia, Glossina, and Stomoxys.
- It is still being determined how these insects specifically contribute to LSDV transmission.
- Lumpy skin viral infections are typically infrequent because the vector populations are impacted by animal movements, immunological status, and weather and rainfall patterns.
Preventions
Artificial immunity against LSD:
- There are currently two alternative methods for LSDV vaccination. The Neethling strain of the virus was initially weakened by 20 passes on the chorioallantoic layers of hen eggs in South Africa.
- The vaccine virus is now being grown in cell culture. It has been demonstrated that the vaccine made from sheep or goat pox viruses gives cow immunity in Kenya.
- Although for cattle, the amount of attenuation needed for safe usage in sheep and goats is insufficient.
- Since live vaccinations could be a source of infection for unprotected sheep and goat populations, these vaccines are only permitted in nations where the diseases are already widespread.
Natural Immunity against LSD
- After recovering from a normal infection, most cattle have lifetime immunity.
- Additionally, immunological cow calves pick up maternal antibodies and are protected from clinical illness until they are roughly six months old.
- Calves below the age of six months whose parents were either infected or immunised should not get vaccinations to prevent disruption of maternal antibodies.
- Contrarily, calves from susceptible cows are likewise susceptible and should receive the vaccination.
Breakout in India
As per a report, roughly 2500 cattle have perished in Gujarat and Rajasthan over the past few weeks due to the viral infection Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), which has spread throughout the two states. During an interview, Kutch’s District Development Officer Bhavya Verma informed The Indian Express that the area was “beyond the peak of the rise of LSD” and that the number of daily infections has stabilised.
In the last week of July, the Gujarati administration outlawed the movement of animals from the 14 areas that were impacted. A total of 11 lakh cattle have received the illness vaccination. The National Dairy Development Board has given Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan 28 lakh doses of the goat pox vaccine it purchased from a private company named Hester Biosciences. A free helpline, 1962, has also been set up to assist dairy farmers and livestock herders in combating the disease.
