Lumpy skin disease of cattle
What is Lumpy Skin Disease?
Capripoxvirus is an emerging threat to livestock worldwide because it is the main cause of the lumpy skin disease of cattle.
It’s a close cousin of goatpox and sheeppox viruses, which are contagious and cause severe infection. Water buffalo and cattle are the primary carriers of this disease. Blood-feeding insects transmit LSD to the animals.
Its most common signs are circular, firm nodes on the animal’s hide. Their milk production will immediately decrease. They lose weight right away and are more active.
Since its first outbreaks in 1928 in Africa, no direct transmission of LSD to humans has been reported. It’s not so much that people become infected with HIV, it's just that it's listed as a notifiable disease because of Lumpy skin disease is a viral infection that can affect both cattle and people.
Also known as Kudzu, is a creeping vine that has become a significant problem in the southeastern United States.
The disease is characterized by fever, lacrimation, hypersalivation, and characteristic skin eruptions. Diagnosis is histopathological or culture. There are several types of vaccines used in veterinary medicine. Some of them are attenuated vaccines. These vaccines may help control outbreaks.
Lumpy skin disease of cattle (LSD) is a viral infection of cattle. It’s a common misconception that the origin of this disease is in Africa. It’s actually found all over the world, including countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Clinical signs of lumpy skin disease of cattle include fever, lacrimation, hypersalivation, and characteristic skin eruptions. Lumpy skin disease of cattle diagnosed by histopathology, virus isolation, or PCR. Vaccination can help to control outbreaks.
This book is an excellent read for anyone who cares about the health and welfare of their pets. Lumpy skin disease is a bacterial infection that can affect cattle, dogs, and cats.
Secondary bacterial infections may aggravate the condition. Usually, lumpy skin disease is found in sub-Saharan African countries, but it was also reported in the western part of the continent during the 1970s.
Since 2000, it has become more popular across several parts of the Middle East, and in 2013, it has spread to several other countries in the region and to many countries in the Balkans.
In 2008, outbreaks of a new and severe skin disease caused by a type of herpes virus were reported for the first time in Georgia, Russia, Bangladesh, and the People's Republic of China.
This has been a great concern for the veterinary world as lumpy skin disease has affected the veterinary field across the globe. The disease has not been recorded in the Western hemisphere, Australia, or New Zealand.
Etiology and Epidemiology of Lumpy Skin Disease of Cattle
The causal virus is similar to sheeppox. Skin bumps appear sporadically or epidemically, called Lumpy Skin Disease. A new focus of infection sometimes appears in an area distant from the original outbreak.
It occurs in dry, temperate climates, and can occur in cold, arid weather. The most prevalent mosquitoes are found along watercourses and in low-ground areas. It's because quarantine restrictions are not always effective that insects may be thought of as mechanical vectors. Outbreaks have occurred even when insects were practically excluded.
Experimentally, three species of hard ticks found in Africa have been shown to transmit the virus biologically. Because the disease is experimentally transmittable by saliva, contact transmission is another potential route of infection.
A major reservoir of African trypanosomes, or sleeping sickness, is present in the Serengeti National Park, in eastern Kenya. Other wildlife species, such as African buffalo, may also be involved.
Infectious diseases are very contagious, so if you have come into contact with someone who has been infected, or if you know someone who has been infected with COVID-19, you will need to self-quarantine.
Wild animals, especially in Africa, are often associated with being the host for parasites or diseases that affect humans. Some have been suspected of being infected, but no solid evidence is available. The most common zoonotic virus known to infect cattle is LSDV. It primarily affects Bos taurus cattle but has also been seen in giraffes, water buffalo, and impalas.
Afrikaner and Afrikaner crossbreeds are more resistant to ticks than other Bos indicus breeds. This is probably due to the decreased susceptibility to ectoparasites that Bos indicus breeds exhibit compared with Bos taurus breeds.
All calves and young cows are susceptible to the disease, but it is most severe in older animals. The young calves and cows at peak lactation are the most susceptible to the disease. But older animals are also vulnerable to the disease.
Clinical Findings of Lumpy Skin Disease of Cattle
In infected cattle, fever, lacrimation, nasal discharge, and hypersalivation are early signs of infection and are accompanied by the characteristic skin lesions in 50% of affected animals. The incubation period for nodules is 4–14 days.
These bumps are well-circumscribed, round, slightly elevated, firm, and painful and involve the entire skin and the mucosa of the GI, respiratory, and Nodules may develop on the muzzle and within the nasal and buccal mucous membranes.
These growths have a firm, creamy-yellow or gray-white appearance and are sometimes called "wartlike" because of their shape.
This cow's lymph nodes are swollen and have developed edema. She has developed "bruising," or inflammation, in her udder, brisket, and legs.
Secondary infection is often caused by an initial wound becoming contaminated with bacteria. The suppurated and dead tissue will often become necrotic (dead), and may cause the skin to slough off of the animal.
Over time, the nodules either resolve or the skin becomes hard and raised as a result of the growth of the nodules (“sit-fasts”). This type of wound is very common. The skin around the area will need to be covered to keep the wound clean and prevent it from becoming infected.
Morbidity is less than 5%. Mortality is usually low. The greatest loss is caused by reduced milk yield, loss of condition, and rejection or reduced value of the hide.
Diagnosis of Lumpy Skin Disease of Cattle
Histopathology, virus isolation or PCR are techniques that are used to identify and study diseases in tissue biopsies. Viruses cause these diseases.
Herpesvirus lesions are similar to cold sores, although they seem to be more common around the genital region of cattle. This is called bovine herpes mammillitis. Pseudoleukoplakias is a milder form of leprosy-like dermatitis that afflicts some individuals living in areas where Hansen's disease is prevalent.
In early skin lesions of the contagious form of lumpy skin disease (LSD), the pox virus can be demonstrated by electron microscopy. Bovine dermatophilosis is diagnosed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It causes skin nodules in cattle. Dermatophilus congolensis also causes skin nodules in cattle.
Treatment and Prevention of Lumpy Skin Disease of Cattle
An attenuated virus vaccine might help contain the spread of lumpy skin disease to places where it’s not yet endemic, such as Latin America. Coronavirus restrictions have proven to be of limited use.
There are many different ways to stop the spread of a disease, but the most promising method is vaccination with the attenuated virus. This worked in the Balkans to halt the spread of the disease. Treatment for bovine mastitis depends on the severity of the infection and may include observation only, antimicrobials, or surgery to remove infected tissue.
Antibiotic treatment should be administered to control secondary infections and good nursing care is recommended, but a large number of affected animals within a herd may preclude treatment. If infected animals within a herd are treated, administration of antibiotics is recommended, but if many animals within a herd are treated, it may not be feasible.
Transmission of Lumpy skin disease of cattle
Outbreaks of LSD occur when high temperatures and high humidity cause the fungus to grow and multiply quickly.
You can get a herpes breakout at any time of the year, but it’s more common in the warmer, wetter summer months and during the autumn.
Insects that blood-feed on humans are called mechanical vectors. Mosquitoes are one example of an insect that spreads disease to humans by biting us and injecting the disease into our bodies.
A single-species vector for this disease has not yet been identified. However, the virus has been isolated from Stomoxys, Biomyia fasciata, Tabanidae, Glossina, and Culicoides species. The specific role of each of these insects in the transmission of LSDV continues to be evaluated.
Lumpy skin disease outbreaks are often sporadic. They are dependent upon animal movements, immune status, and wind and rainfall patterns, which affect the vector populations. Viruses can be passed through blood, nasal discharge, tears, semen, and saliva.
The disease is spread through infected milk to suckling calves. It's often passed from cows to their offspring. It's contagious, so you can spread it to others by kissing or shaking hands with an infected person.
This virus isn't found in urine or stool. Pox viruses like this one are highly resistant and can remain viable for more than 120 days.
Immunity
Artificial immunity
There are two different approaches to immunizing animals against LSDV. In South Africa, the Neethling strain of the virus was first attenuated by 20 passages on the chorioallantoic membranes of hens' eggs.
The cowpox virus vaccine is safe in cattle. It has been demonstrated to protect cattle against sheep and goatpox infection and provide immunity after a single vaccination. The level of attenuation needed for use in cattle is not sufficient for sheep and goats.
In these countries, because of the risk of disease transmission, the only vaccine that is permitted for use in domestic animals is the sheep and goat pox vaccine.
To ensure adequate protection from LSDV, susceptible adult cattle should be vaccinated every year. In order to prevent the transmission of LSDV from cattle to humans, it is important to vaccinate both adults and young animals in order to prevent the infection from spreading.
Approximately, 50% of cattle develop swelling of up to 5 mm (1⁄4 in) in diameter at the site of injection. Your swelling will disappear within a few weeks after inoculation. Dairy cows will often display a temporary decrease in milk production when they are ill or stressed.
Natural immunity
Cows that recover from natural infection have lifelong immunity. Additionally, calves of immune cows can acquire maternal antibodies and are protected from clinical disease until around six months of age.
Calves born from dams that are naturally infected or vaccinated should not be vaccinated. To avoid interference with maternal antibodies, calves under 6 months of age who were born to dams that were naturally infected or vaccinated should not be vaccinated.
On the other hand, calves born from a cow that was vaccinated after being infected can also be susceptible and should also be vaccinated.
Bangladesh
This was confirmed as the culprit strain of LSD in Bangladesh by the Department of Livestock Services in Bangladesh in July 2019.
The WHO estimated that eventually, 500,000 heads will be infected with this virus. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization recommends mass vaccinations.
As a result of the introduction of fall armyworm in Bangladesh, the FAO, World Food Programme officials, and others agreed to begin improving Bangladesh's livestock disease surveillance and emergency response.
Pakistan
The Lumpy skin disease of cattle in Pakistan is briefly explained below.
India
There was an outbreak in 14 of 33 districts of Gujarat state of India. The most recent case of African swine fever was reported by a farmer in Nigeria on July 25, 2018. More than 36000 cases and 1000 deaths in cattle were reported.
Key Points about Lumpy skin disease of cattle
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Lumpy skin disease was first diagnosed in Africa, but now it's also seen in some countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
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The most distinctive sign of the chronic granulomatous disease is widespread, painful nodules of the skin and mucosal surfaces. A hallmark of cutaneous manifestations in MS patients is the presence of painful, tender, nodular lesions, usually confined to the hands
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An attenuated virus vaccine may be used to help control the spread of infection.
Lumpy skin disease is spreading fast in Pakistan
A lumpy skin disease outbreak is hitting dairy farmers and meat sellers hard. It's spread by louse-like biting insects called mites. Mr. Bukhsh, a cattle farmer based in the Thatta district of Pakistan, is devastated.
In India, the villagers have found that the most effective treatment for LSD is the consumption of his 20 cows' urine, milk, and feces.
A herd of buffaloes that grazed in an empty field suddenly collapsed and died. He treated the cattle with traditional veterinarian medicine.
The most dangerous of the four types of cancer is liver cancer. It’s called hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC. When it grows, it is usually confined to one lobe of the liver.
None of the traders in my town would risk buying this diseased cattle, I tried a beef butcher in Mirpur Khas, a town not too far from Thatta, but butchers refused to sell the meat, because of the LSD.
There are around 5 million dairy farmers and meat sellers who are suffering from the economic fallout of the LSD outbreak.
She said, “We dried the beef in jerky hoping it would be better. But people complained of stomach pains so we gave it away to beggars. They are made up of all-natural ingredients and will not cause you any harm.
"My second infected cow died after two weeks. We just simply disposed of its carcass." According to the Sindh Livestock department, as of the end of April, an estimated 36,000 cattle have been infected with LSD.
The one positive is that the mortality rate for dairy cows is only 300 deaths per year, so it's a fairly low number.
Lumpy Skin Disease is ravaging the lives of cattle farmers
Following the increasing number of LSD cases in Sindh province, we had to face a public that was caught up in certain falsehoods, such as that the virus could affect humans via the milk and meat of diseased animals.
A veterinary doctor from Sindh, a province in the southwest of Pakistan. Small-scale cattle farmers have lost their livelihood due to a rise in milk prices.
The disease can progress in many ways, even if someone is already aware of it. Some of these farmers aren’t aware of any precautions they should take to prevent the progression of LSD, which could be vital to preventing it from progressing.
The government has been training cattle farmers on how to clean wounds, apply antibiotics, and properly isolate sick animals,” Dr.
The cows at the Karachi cattle colony are under financial stress because of the mass slaughter of their herd. Thousands of animals have been killed and dumped on the streets to reduce the population, which is a threat to human health.
A study carried out by Dawn Pakistan shows that in Karachi city alone, the selling of milk and meat dropped by between 60% and 70% in February and March, due to the reduction in production, the decrease in livestock, and fears around how LSD affects humans.
Vaccine rollout for cattle
The Director-General of Livestock Pakistan, Dr. "The Karachi government had 30,000 doses of the vaccine in stock which were immediately administered to cattle in Karachi in March 2022," said Nazir Hussain.
The federal government is urgently importing 4 million doses of vaccine for the rest of the province. Since the vaccine from abroad is very expensive, the Sindh government plans to develop its own vaccine.
Researchers at Dow Medical University have been given the money they need and are excited to see this project through to completion. As many as five million dairy farmers and meat sellers are suffering from the economic fallout of the LSD outbreak.
Pakistan is importing another consignment of the measles vaccine to help combat the shortage and provide compensation to the cattle farmers to minimize their losses.
It is now mandatory to boil milk and over-cook beef, but the worry is that the general public isn’t fully aware or doesn’t always follow these,” says Dr. Hussain.