Lumpy Skin disease: Over 67,000 cattle dead - how it spreads, symptoms, treatment and vaccine

Lumpy Skin disease: Lumpy Skin disease is spreading among cattle rapidly. As many as 67,000 cattle have died since the outbreak of the disease in July, according to a PTI report. This has prompted a massive effort to vaccinate cattle in over eight states with the most cases of the disease. These states are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir (UT). There are some stray cases in Andhra Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Lumpy Skin Disease Virus 

Lumpy Skin disease is a contagious viral disease that spreads among cattle through mosquitoes, flies, lice and wasps by direct contact, as also through contaminated food and water. There is no evidence of transmission from cattle to humans.

Lumpy Skin Disease Symptoms

The symptoms include high fever, reduced milk production, skin nodules, loss of appetite, increased nasal discharge and watery eyes, too much of salivation and discharge of water from eyes and nose and formation of nodules on the body.

Lumpy Skin Disease Vaccine

Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department Secretary Jatindra Nath Swain said states are currently using the 'goat pox' vaccine to control lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle.

The commercial launch of a new vaccine 'Lumpi-ProVacInd' for LSD, developed by two institutes of agri research body ICAR, will take the next "three-four months," he said. Two companies are manufacturing this vaccine and they have the capacity to produce 4 crore doses a month.

 The goat pox vaccine is sufficient to help fight LSD in areas where no case has been reported, doses of 3 ml each can be administered in cattle where an outbreak has been reported, he added.