Lumpy disease: 35,000 cattle killed in 9 states

A total of 35,000 cattle have died due to lumpy skin disease in nine Indian states as of August 23, 2022, according to the Union department of Animal Husbandry. Around 900,000 cattle have been infected, as the department tries to contain any further spread of the disease. 

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral illness, caused by lumpy skin disease virus of the capripoxvirus genus in the poxviridae family. 

It appears as nodules of two-five centimetre diameters all over the body, particularly around the head, neck, limbs, udder and genitals. The lumps gradually open up like large and deep wounds. 

Two main reasons for the spread are the multiplication of vectors like houseflies, ticks as well as mosquitoes during the monsoon months and the unrestricted movement of stray cattle. 

Stray cattle pose a problem because they are difficult to isolate, said regional officer, livestock health, department of animal husbandry and dairying, to Down To Earth (DTE). 

“But now, isolation centres are coming up and the department has issued guidelines for the state governments to liaison with the district administrations or the municipalities to control the stray cattle movement,” he added.

The disease has spread to Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu, with maximum cases reported from Rajasthan and Gujarat. 

There are about 5 million stray cattle in the country, out of which 4 million are in these nine states, according to the Livestock Census 2019. 

In about 10 per cent of the cases, the infected animal succumbs to the disease, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In India, the mortality rate is 2-3 per cent of the infected cattle, Kumar said. 

The states are reporting more mortality in stray animals, especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Praveen Malik told DTE. He added:

Stray cattle are weaker and have low immunity in general. So, more deaths are being reported, especially from drought-prone regions in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The virus mainly spreads through blood-sucking vectors, which multiply during the rains, and the authorities are hoping the spread will be contained once the monsoon season is over. 

Currently, 5 million healthy animals in these nine states have been vaccinated with goat pox vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease and the department is targeting 900,000-1 million more animals in the coming days. 

The priority is doing ring vaccination in the 5-kilometre radius of the outbreak, especially in border areas of different states so that it doesn’t spread to more states, said Kumar.

“There are certain limitations in vaccines. They are not even available globally. But in India, there are two companies making the vaccine and we have asked them to increase the production,” said Kumar. 

Goat pox vaccine is tried and tested in the country as the virus is antigenically similar to sheep and goat pox, Kumar added. “There is an LSD vaccine also but it has been observed that it is not safe and effective as it leads to new strains. The results of the goat pox vaccine are better.”

Historically, LSD has remained confined to Africa, where it was first discovered in 1929, and parts of West Asia. But in recent years, the disease has spread to territories beyond the endemic areas. In 2015, it made an incursion into the European part of Turkey and Greece.

The next year, it wreaked havoc in the Balkan and Caucasian countries and Russia. However, since its arrival in Bangladesh in July 2019, LSD is spreading across Asia in epidemic proportions.

The disease spread to seven countries till the end of 2020 — reaching China and India in August 2019, Nepal in June 2020, Taiwan in July 2020, Bhutan and Vietnam in October 2020 and Hong Kong in November 2020, according to a risk assessment report by FAO. 

At least 23 countries in south, east and southeast Asia are now at risk of LSD. India has the world’s highest number of cattle (303 million).

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