A male banteng or wild cattle was discovered with signs of the disease in September 2021 and died soon after; case highlights danger to wild bovids from livestock, say authors
The male banteng infected with LSD in Cambodia as photographed by the study authors
Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV) was first detected in Cambodia in a banteng, a type of wild cattle native to Southeast Asia, in September 2021, a new study published on August 3, 2023 in the journal Frontiers has stated.
The LSDV was detected in domestic cattle in Cambodia in June of that year. Four months later, a banteng was seen in Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok wildlife sanctuary in northern Cambodia, exhibiting signs of the disease.
The banteng, an adult male, was spotted by community rangers. It had grown thin, lethargic, and had multiple skin nodules on its head and flank. It also had a snare wound on its right front leg that appeared to be swollen and infected, causing lameness.
“The banteng became progressively weaker and immobile, and eventually died on September 10,” the authors of the report titled Case report: Lumpy skin disease in an endangered wild banteng (Bos javanicus) and initiation of a vaccination campaign in domestic livestock in Cambodia, noted.
Authorities then conducted a vaccination campaign for domestic cattle within a 20-kilometre radius of protected areas in Mondulkiri and Preah Vihear provinces in July 2022.
A total of 20,089 domestic cattle and water buffalo were vaccinated. “No signs of LSDV in banteng or gaur in Cambodia have been observed since this initial case,” the authors added.
Protected areas in Cambodia are not fenced and domestic cattle are allowed to freely roam inside them.
There are five villages within the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok. One of them, Joam Praoup, is located just 5.6 kilometres from where community rangers spotted the banteng male. It had experienced an LSDV outbreak in June 2021.
The authors of the study noted that the case highlighted the danger to wild bovids in Southeast Asia due to disease outbreaks among domestic cattle.
They said while “…wildlife is often blamed for spillover of diseases to humans (SARS-CoV) and domestic animals (HPAI, Nipah virus), however recognition of the risks of disease transmission to vulnerable and endangered populations already ravaged by habitat loss and wildlife trafficking is often neglected”.
There have been other instances similar to the banteng in Cambodia in other parts of the world where wildlife has contracted diseases from livestock.
For instance, nearly 80 per cent of the Mongolian saiga antelope population died due to Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) virus, spread from sheep and goats.
“In Southeast Asia, 11 endemic wild pig species, including the Sumatran bearded pig (Sus barbatus), are threatened by the widespread and catastrophic African swine fever virus epidemic in domestic swine,” the authors wrote.
Cambodia’s populations of banteng and gaur (found in India as well) are highly threatened.
The study noted that globally, gaur has been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable since 1986 and banteng listed as endangered since 1996.
“There are estimated to be < 1,500 banteng in Cambodia and gaur populations are too small, fragmented, and infrequently observed to estimate. The majority of these species live in isolated protected areas in the Eastern and Northern Plains of the country,” it added.
Before Cambodia, LSDV was detected in three gaurs in Kui Buri National Park in June 2021 and two bantengs in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in August 2021.
“Spillover of livestock diseases to naïve fragmented vulnerable wildlife can have devastating consequences for endangered wildlife populations, biodiversity, and cascading effects on the ecosystem. Protecting these species from extinction requires a One Health approach and innovative integrated solutions,” according to the authors.
Besides vaccination, this would require long-term commitment to conservation from government, decreased demand for wildlife meat, habitat protection, stronger law enforcement, and recognition of the role of wildlife in socioecological systems and transboundary disease response plans, they added.
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