Lumpy Skin Disease Virus

In News 

• The Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) Virus that has killed at least 50,000 cattle in India this year may be structurally different from the version of the virus prevalent in India in 2019.
  • It is raising questions on whether the new vaccine being developed for safeguarding cattle may be adequately protective.

Lumpy Skin Disease

• About:
  • LSD is caused by infection of cattle or water buffalo with the poxvirus Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV).
  • Lumpy skin disease was first seen as an epidemic in Zambia in 1929.
• Transmission:
  • The disease spreads among cattle through mosquitoes, flies, lice, and wasps by direct contact, and also through contaminated food and water. The disease causes fever and nodules on the skin, and it can be fatal.
  • About 57,000 cattle have died so far due to the disease which has spread to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
• Symptoms:
  • It includes skin nodules of about two to five centimetres, high fever, reduced milk production, loss of appetite, and watery eyes. 
• Concerns: 
  • The disease has raised concerns over its impact on the dairy business. India is the world’s largest milk producer at about 210 million tonnes annually.
• Treatment & Vaccine: 
  • Lumpi-ProVacInd – jointly developed by ICAR’s National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI).
    • It is a live attenuated vaccine, similar to those used against tuberculosis, measles, mumps and rubella.
  • Anti-inflammatory painkillers can be used to keep up the appetite of affected animals.

Source:TH