LUMPY SKIN DISEASE : IS IT AN INDICATION OF FUTURE OUTBREAKS ?
Subhalakshmi Gogoi
3rd year , BVSc and AH
College of Veterinary Science, AAU
Khanapara , Guwahati
Mobile no. -6001848950
Email id – sgogoi006@gmail.com
ABSTRACT :
Lumpy skin disease is an emerging viral infection of cattle and water buffaloes. The Lumpy Skin Disease virus(LSDV) belongs to the family Poxviridae and genus Capripoxvirus. The history of this virus can be traced back to Africa and middle eastern countries, from it spread rapidly to Asia and Europe. The genus of this virus, Capripoxvirus , is also the causative agent of goat pox and sheep pox. The main drawback of it’s recent outbreak in India was the ineffectiveness of the vaccines against this virus. There is also a certain degree of fright of misuse of this virus as international bioterrorism agents. The main underlying factor of this viral outbreak is assumed to be rapid rise in the illegal trading of infectious animals. This article is structured in the shape of a brief overview of transmission, symptoms, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and preparedness of and for LSD virus.
Keywords : lumpy skin disease, capripoxvirus, goat pox, sheep pox, vaccines, bioterrorism, outbreak, trading, transboundary disease
LSD – A DREADFUL TRANSBOUNDARY ANIMAL DISEASE :
LSD is considered to be one of the most dreadful emerging transboundary diseases which has the potential to cause global economic and public health losses. It is highly contagious.
It first spread from southern and eastern Africa but further expanded it’s territory towards sub Saharan west Africa. During the beginning of 20th century, the Middle Eastern countries also came under it’s tragic influence and then into Turkey and several other countries in the Balkans. The first reporting of the LSD outbreak was heard in Georgia, Bangladesh, Russia and the People’s Republic of China.
According to daily reports , Rajasthan (India) and Gujarat have been affected the most due to the recent LSD outbreak. More than 80,000 cattle died due to this viral infection. Although doubtful cases of this virus were detected in Odisha in August, 2019. as there was low mortality rate , this outbreak was not put under thorough investigation process. Now , this virus has also transmitted to other states of India such as Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand , Delhi , Madhya Pradesh , Punjab , Haryana , Jharkhand , Maharashtra and Andaman & Nicobar.
TRANSMISSION :
The LSD virus is a highly transmissible animal disease. The occurrence of LSD virus cases is highest during humid summer season, but may also occur in winter. Blood sucking insects and ticks are considered to be the main vectors. Infected saliva, milk, semen, nasal secretions, dried scabs, lesions and crusts are the major routes of transmission.
The viability period is longer in case of this virus and may persist in the environment for long duration. Necrotic skin lesions and scabs show it’s persistence for up to 33 days or longer. Deactivation of this virus can be done with the help of high temperature around 55°C for 2 hours 65°C for 30 minutes.
CARDINAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF LSD
Clinical symptoms include fever, inappetence, lacrimation, nasal discharge, hypersalivation and the characteristic multiple lesions on the skin which appears after 1 week of fever. These are about 1-4 cm in size. The nodular growths are intradermal, round , circumscribed, slightly elevated, intact and painful. It infects the gastrointestinal, respiratory and genital tracts. Swelling of the regional lymph nodes occurs. There is also cultivation of edema in the udder, brisket and leg region. There is usually recovery of the lesions within 2-4 weeks but some may remain for years.
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS :
Histopathological findings , virus identification/isolation, electron microscopy and PCR help in the diagnosis of this disease. Urticaria commonly called as hives are major diagnostic feature of this disease. Furthermore , Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) is used to establish differentiation between virulent LSDV strain and vaccine strain. The other key molecular technique used for it’s diagnosis is the serological technique which mainly includes the virus neutralization technique.
TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF LSD IN CATTLE :
Although attenuated virus vaccines are used for the treatment of LSD but still the effectiveness of these vaccines is under consideration. Antibiotics may be used for the control of secondary infection. Illegal trading of livestock might be one of the underlying elements responsible for this outbreak. Lack of proper disposal method of infected carcasses is also one of the responsible factors. Proper nursing and pest / insect control must be done at regular intervals.
IMPACT OF THE OUTRAGEOUS LSD OUTBREAK :
The impact of such outbreaks is beyond everyone’s imagination. Imbalances not only in the health sector but also in the economic sector of any nation occur due to such situation in any country. The milk yield, reproductivity rate and breeding value of the cattle population may rapidly slow down. Although the milk produced by the infected animals is consumable , but still there’s risk of other underlying unidentified diseases. Disposal or incineration of such huge number of carcasses is impossible thus causing havoc among the human population. The cases are still increasing, many of them being unreported.
WHAT THE LSD OUTBREAK ACTUALLY INDICATES ?
Does the recent LSD outbreak indicates future arrival of new viral global pandemics ? Or is it a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic ? Well, one may only superficially outline the answers to these never ending questions. But the future of this globe is in danger as being illustrated by the zoonotic or non-zoonotic outbreaks occurring back to back. This outbreak of LSD may indicate many concealed future outbursts of fatal diseases.
CONCLUSION :
The main reason for the current ecological disturbance is erratic global climatic changes. The human as well as the animal population is finding difficult to adapt to the rapid climatic changes occurring as a result of human behaviour themselves. Nothing is as stable as it was hundred years ago. Every coin has two sides. But in this ongoing global situation, either way you flip the coin, there’s only one probability of economic and public health loss.
“ There’s no other alternative to get out of the nature’s trap except falling to her knees and adorning her roots.”
REFERENCES :
1. Gibbs . Paul . (Sep 2022 ). Lumpy Skin Disease in Cattle . MSD VETERINARY MANUAL. ( CrossRef )
2. Munjal . Diksha . (SEPTEMBER 27, 2022). Explained | What is lumpy skin disease in cattle? Does it affect milk we consume? . THE HINDU. ( CrossRef )
3. Namazi.Fatemeh and Tafti. Khodakaram .Azizollah. (2021 Feb 1). Lumpy skin disease, an emerging transboundary viral disease: A review. Vet Med Sci.( CrossRef )
