Cattle deaths caused by lumpy skin disease has gone up to 97,435 ….
Staff Reporter
Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease that affects cattle. It is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks. It causes fever and nodules on the skin and can lead to the death of the cattle.
THE Cumalative number of cattle deaths caused by lumpy skin disease has gone up to 97,435 as on September 23 – almost double from the 49,682 deaths recorded about three weeks ago, according to official data.
The data available with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying shows that the lumpy skin disease has spread across 251 districts in 15 states and affected over 20 lakh animals till September 23.
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is caused by lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), a virus from the family Poxviridae, genus Capripoxvirus. Sheeppox virus and goatpox virus are the two other virus species in this genus.
2) LSDV is highly host specific and causes disease only in cattle (Bos indicus and B. taurus) and water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).
LSDV is not zoonotic, so humans cannot get affected by the disease
3) The disease is characterized by viremia, nodules on the skin, sit-fast formation, weight loss, emaciation, and reduction in milk and meat production.
4)Transmission occurs in a wide variety of biotypes, from semi-desert to temperate grasslands and irrigated land. It has the potential to extend its range further.
5) The morbidity rates for LSD during outbreaks vary between 10 and 20% although it has been reported in some places to be as high as 45%, and mortality rates of 1 to 5% are considered usual
6) Successful control and eradication of LSD relies on early detection of the index case, followed by a rapid and widespread vaccination campaign. It is unlikely that total stamping-out (killing all clinically affected cattle and unaffected herd-mates) and partial stamping-out (killing only clinically affected cattle) alone, in the absence of vaccination, can eradicate LSD.
7) There is no known carrier state. Once an animal has recovered, it is well protected and cannot be the source of infection for other animals. In infected animals that do not show clinical signs, the virus may remain in blood for a few weeks and eventually disappear
Meanwhile, providing relief to the livestock of the country, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on August 10 launched the indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVac to protect livestock from Lumpy skin disease.
The most deaths caused by lumpy skin disease have also been reported from Rajasthan, where 64,311 animals have died till September 23. This is followed by 17,721 cattle deaths due to the disease in Punjab. The data shows that 1.66 crore cattle have been vaccinated against the disease till September 23.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that there has been a loss of livestock because of the disease across several states and the Centre, along with various state governments, was trying hard to control it.