West Bengal: Govt in action after lumpy skin disease reported in livestock in several districts
- Union minister of Fisheries, Animal husbandry and Dairying recently directed prompt action on reports of rising cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in livestock of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal.
Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD):
- It is an acute to chronic, highly infectious viral disease that affects cattle.
- Causative Agent: It is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which belongs to the genus capripoxvirus, a part of the poxviridae family (smallpox and monkeypox viruses are also a part of the same family).
- It is characterized by fever, nodules on the skin, mucous membranes and internal organs, emaciation, enlarged lymph nodes, oedema of the skin, and sometimes death.
- LSDV is not transmissible to humans.
- The disease is of economic importance as it can cause a temporary reduction in milk production, temporary or permanent sterility in bulls, damage to hides and, occasionally, death.
Transmission:
- by blood-feeding insects, such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks;
- by movement of affected animals;
- by contaminated equipment;
- directly from animal to animal in some cases;
Treatment
- It has no direct antiviral treatment.
- Instead, the infected animals receive supportive care, which involves the use of antibiotics, painkillers, and wound care sprays to treat symptoms.
- As there's no treatment, vaccines are used to control disease transmission.