Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD)

A division bench of the Telangana High Court recently expressed its dissatisfaction with the lack of specific details about measures taken to control the outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in cattle.

It is an acute to chronic, highly infectious viral disease that affects cattle.

Causative Agent: It is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which belongs to the genus capripoxvirus, a part of the poxviridae family (smallpox and monkey pox viruses are also a part of the same family).

LSDV is not a zoonotic virus, meaning the disease cannot spread to humans.

Symptoms

LSD affects the lymph nodes of the infected animal, causing the nodes to enlarge and appear like lumps on the skin, which is where it derives its name from.

The cutaneous nodules, 2–5 cm in diameter, appear on the infected cattle’s head, neck, limbs, udder, genitalia, and perineum. 

The nodules may later turn into ulcers and eventually develop scabs over the skin.

The other symptoms include high fever, sharp drop in milk yield, discharge from the eyes and nose, salivation, loss of appetite, depression, damaged hides, emaciation (thinness or weakness) of animals, infertility, and abortions.

Transmission

• By blood-feeding insects, such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks;
• By the movement of affected animals;
• By contaminated equipment;
• By directly from animal to animal in some cases;

Treatment

It has no direct antiviral treatment.

Instead, the infected animals receive supportive care, which involves the use of antibiotics, painkillers, and wound care sprays to treat symptoms.

As there's no treatment, vaccines are used to control disease transmission.

The disease is of economic importance as it can cause a temporary reduction in milk production, temporary or permanent sterility in bulls, damage to hides and, occasionally, death.