Lumpy skin disease

 

Lumpy skin disease

Lumpy skin disease is an infectious viral disease caused by Lumpy skin disease virus

Genus -Capripoxvirus

Subfamily - Chordopoxvirniae

Family - Poxviridae.

It is a non-zoonotic, vector borne and trans boundary disease with limited host range and currently restricted to ruminants viz. cattle and water buffaloes. Calves are more susceptible and develop lesions within 24 to 48 hrs.

Transmission: 

Mechanically through arthropod vectors - such as biting flies, mosquitoes and ticks.

Indirect transmission through milk,- nasal secretions, saliva, blood and lachrymal secretions for animals sharing feeding and watering troughs

From infected mother to calf via milk secretions and skin abrasions.  

Through use of single needle for massØ vaccination that can acquire the virus from the skin scabs or crusts

Incubation Period:

·        2-5 weeks in natural conditions  

·        7-14 days in experimental conditions

 

Clinical Signs Lumpy Skin Disease:

·        Biphasic Fever

·        Swelling of the limbs, brisket and genitals

·        Nodules on skin

·        Reduction in milk production

·        Watering eyes

 

Lumpy skin disease has rapidly spread among cattle in more than 10 states and Union Territories of India.

The death rates are rising and it continues to have a disastrous impact on the herd of cattle. Being the world’s largest milk producer, the dairy industry of India is facing a huge challenge as a result of the current outbreak. The milk production has been severely reduced and states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab have already reported a drop in milk yield. Reports indicate a reduction of 5-6 lakh litres a day in the milk yield of Rajasthan.

The disease poses a serious danger to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and farmers in various regions have suffered losses as a result of the deaths of their cattle.

The current outbreak started in Gujarat and Rajasthan around July and had spread to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar and Uttarakhand by early August. It then spread to Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. In recent weeks, it was reported in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Jharkhand. Over 16 lakh cases have been reported so far in 197 districts. However, data on the total number of infected animals is still being collated of the nearly 75,000 deaths. More than 50,000 deaths, mostly cows, have been reported from Rajasthan only.

Affected Cattle - 20.56 lakh

Total Death - 97435

Recovered - 12.70 lakh

 

Affected Cattle in top 3 states

Rajasthan - 13.99 lakh

Punjab - 1.74 lakh

Gujarat - 1.66 lakh

 

Outbreak of LSD

First Outbreak – 1928: First outbreak in Africa and now endemic in African countries

Since 2012 - has spread rapidly through the Middle East, Southeast Europe, And West and Central Asia

Since 2019 - In Asia, Several outbreak reported in Asian countries such as China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Shri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia

 

Treatment:

Symptomatic treatment including the treatment of secondary infection (if any)  

Based on the symptoms and clinical signs

Use of anti-inflammatory drugs (preferably non-steroids) to treat the inflammatory condition.  

Use of anti-histamine preparations / drugs to treat allergic conditions.  

Use of Paracetamol in case of high fever.  

In case of secondary bacterial infections like respiratory infections, skin infections antibiotics may also be used judiciously.  

Parental/oral multivitamins.  

Oral treatment with 0.1% Methylene Blue (MB) solution (1 gram of MB powder in 1 litre of water)

Government Initiatives:

The affected States have prohibited movement of cattle and are quarantining infected cattle and buffaloes, spraying insecticides to kill vectors like mosquitoes, with some affected States such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh also setting up dedicated control rooms and helpline numbers to guide farmers whose cattle have been infected.

97 lakh vaccine doses had been given as of the first week of September.

Delhi government procured 25,000 doses of goat pox vaccine and started a vaccination drive to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease in cattle.

Advisories have been issued by DAHD for using Goat pox vaccine for the vaccination of cattle and buffaloes. However, affected animals should not be vaccinated. In a major breakthrough, ICAR‟s National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) at Hisar, Haryana and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) at Izatnagar, jointly developed Lumpi-ProVac^ind , an indigenous vaccine for LSD, which the Centre plans to commercialise and roll out in the next three to four months.

Being an agriculture-based economy, it is a matter of great concern for the livestock rearing sector. Despite severe reduction in milk production, LSD can also lead to reduction in export of livestock and livestock products. Therefore, strict implementation of advisories and biosecurity measures should be followed along with undertaking door to door awareness and vaccination drive to regulate the spread of disease.