UP govt takes cognizance as over 2 mn cattle affected by Lumpy Skin Disease

As India is witnessing a surge in the viral Lumpy Skin Disease among cattle, the Uttar Pradesh government recently banned cattle trade with four neighbouring states and imposed a 'lockdown' on the intrastate movement of animals from 28 districts.

A total of 97,435 cattle have died in the nation due to the viral Lumpy Skin Disease, government data as on September 23 showed. The lumpy disease has spread across 251 districts in 15 states and affected over 2 million animals, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying's data stated. 

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What is the current situation of LSD in India?

Over two million cattle have been affected by the Lumpy Skin Disease in India, as of September 23. 

With 1.3 million infections, Rajasthan is the worst-hit state by the disease, followed by Punjab (174,464), Gujarat (166,968), Himachal Pradesh (88,273), and Haryana (110,550). A total of 64,311 cattle have died in Rajasthan from the viral disease. In Punjab, 17,721 cattle have died from the lumpy skin infection.

Nearly 36 million cattle are susceptible to the disease in 15 states and UTs, which also include Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Bihar, the ministry's data showed.

While over two million cattle have been affected by the lumpy infection, out of these, 1.2 million have recovered.

Meanwhile, 16 million cattle have been vaccinated against the infection in India till September.

What is Lumpy Skin Disease?

Lumpy Skin Disease is a viral infection 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 disease is caused by the LSD virus (LSDV), a poxvirus of the genus capripoxvirus, and was first identified in an outbreak in Zambia in 1929. While the virus remained confined to the African continent till the 1980s, Israel reported the infection in 1989. 

The disease first came to India in 2019. In August that year, Odisha reported suspected cases of Lumpy Skin Disease. Meanwhile, the first laboratory-confirmed outbreak of the disease was reported in November 2019.

(With agencies inputs)