As lumpy skin disease has rapidly spread among cattle in eight states of India, over 67,000 cattle have died since July. The viral disease’s outbreak has prompted a massive vaccination drive in the country.
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Here’s all you need to know about India’s Lumpy Skin Disease Outbreak:
1. The viral disease- Lumpy skin disease- mainly affects cows. The virus belongs to the capripoxvirus genus in the poxviridae family.
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2. Lumpy skin disease is transmitted by insects that feed on blood such as mosquitoes, ticks, and certain species of flies. It can also spread through contaminated fodder and water.
3. Lumpy skin disease causes fever, nodules on the skin and in severe cases can also lead to death.
4, Lumpy skin disease is especially dangerous for animals that have not been exposed to the virus.
5. In India, the first lumpy skin disease case was reported on April 23 this year in Gujarat’s Kutch.
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6. Lumpy skin disease has now spread in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
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7. India has begun administering the ‘goat pox vaccine’ to all cattle in the affected states. The vaccine is “100 per cent effective” against the lumpy skin disease, the Centre said.
8. Over 1.5 crore doses have been administered to cattle in the affected states.
9. Indigenous vaccine ‘Lumpi-ProVacInd’ for the lumpy disease has also been developed in India.
10. Currently, two companies are manufacturing the vaccine.
