The lumpy skin disease
- Mumbai Police has prohibited cattle transportation in the city to prevent the spread of the lumpy skin disease (LSD).
Lumpy skin disease
- Caused by: Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV)
- Genus: capripoxvirus
- Family: Poxviridae
- Not a zoonotic virus, means cannot spread to humans
- Contagious vector-borne disease spread by vectors like mosquitoes
- Can either spread through direct contact with the vectors or through contaminated fodder and water.
- Affects the lymph nodes of the infected animal
Geographical distribution and how did it spread to India:
- First observed in Zambia in 1929
- As per FAO, currently endemic in Africa, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey.
- In South Asia first affected Bangladesh in July 2019 , then reached India
- Initial cases being detected in Odisha and West Bengal.
Is it safe to consume the milk of affected cattle?
- Not been possible to ascertain
- Pasteurization ensures that the virus is inactivated.
- Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI): Safe to consume milk from the infected cattle.
Economic implications:
- May lead to “substantial” and “severe” economic losses
- Leads to reduced milk production
- Income losses due to:
- Poor growth,
- Reduced draught power capacity
- Reproductive problems associated with abortions, infertility and lack of semen for artificial insemination.
- Movement and trade bans after infection
- Threatens the livelihoods of smaller poultry farmers
How bad is the current spread in India?
- Milk Production in Rajasthan lessened by 3-6 lakh litres a day.
- Milk production has also gone down in Punjab.
- Infected over 16 lakh cattle in 197 districts as of September 11.
- Of the nearly 75,000 cattle that the disease has killed, more than 50,000 deaths, mostly cows, in Rajasthan.
Measures to be taken:
- FAO has suggested
- Vaccination of susceptible populations with >80% coverage
- Movement control of bovine animals and quarantining,
- Implementing biosecurity through vector control by sanitising sheds and spraying insecticides, strengthening active and passive surveillance;
- Spreading awareness on risk mitigation among all stakeholders
- Creating large protection and surveillance zones and vaccination zones.
- Government Efforts:
- Union Government has encouraged use of ‘Goat Pox Vaccine’
- As of the first week of September, 97 lakh doses of vaccination have been administered.
- Affected States have put movement bans and are isolating infected cattle and buffaloes, spraying insecticides to kill vectors, with dedicated control rooms and helpline numbers to guide farmers.
- ICAR has developed an indigenous vaccine for LSD