Lumpy skin disease is a severe viral skin infection of cattle, this virus was originally found in Africa, but it has now spread to other countries like eastern Europe, Asia as well as the middle east. The disease was recently reported in Russia, Georgia, Bangladesh, and even China. I got to know about this disease through a certain YouTube video I saw on the internet, the young guy was speaking about how this disease affected cattle on the farm he worked on and it led to the massive loss of lives of the cattle, I got interested, I really wanted to know more about the disease, and yes, I am here to share that information with you as usual.
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I know that we do not keep cows as pet, (I may be wrong), but asides from our pets, there are other animals that are of great economic importance and even beneficial to humans without being pets. Cattle are an example of those beneficial animals;
- Cattle provide us with beef (for beef lovers).
- Cattle provide us with important byproducts.
- Cattle provide strong benefits to the environment by helping in the prevention of range fires, how this happens is that, when grass becomes tall and dry, it is an option for a stray match, sparks, and lightening from ATVs and cars can start range fires, the fire could burn through a large acre of land, destroying habits of animals and even threatening homes that may be close to the environment, but all of these things will be prevented once the cattle's have conveniently fed on the grass.
Cattle also help to keep the range land of the ecosystem healthy, which it does by grazing down old growth. Existing rangelands have been a safe haven for bees who have consistently found it convenient to exist where they are. Cattle rearing has grown beyond a normal activity for some farmers as it has become a basic source of wealth to them.
Lumpy skin disease is an eruptive and infectious disease that is showcased through nodules on the skin as well as other parts of the body, it is a viral disease, transmitted by blood-feeding insects including certain flies species, mosquitoes, and even ticks. Aside from showcasing nodules on the skin in the infected cattle, it also causes fever and could eventually result in death, especially if that is the first time the animal would ever be exposed to a virus.
The disease does not affect humans, but it is highly contagious amongst cattle and buffalo and even results in low mortality, leading to serious animal welfare problems and a high loss of production. The infection causes acute cases of; fever, reduction in milk yield, depression, and abortion in pregnant animals. It is spread through;
- The movement of infected animals.
- The use of contaminated instruments.
- Through biting insects like mosquitoes, ticks, and parasites.
How severe the disease would vary amongst breeds and cattle strains, several cattle suffer cases of serious emaciation and loss of production which would last for months.
How to identify a cattle with lumpy skin disease.
When a cattle is infected, it develops a fever, lacrimation, nasal discharge, and hyper-salivation which will proceed with skin eruptions and all other body parts, the incubation period would only take about 4-14 days.
The nodules will appear more round, circumscribed, slightly raised, firm and painful. Diary cattle at the peak of production are usually affected the most by this disease, when the condition gets even more severe, necrotic lesions can have their way into the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract.
Lumpy skin diseases in cattle can be confused as signs of other diseases and can be diagnosed appropriately with a proper laboratory test, it can be confused with diseases like; pseudo lumpy skin disease, bovine papular stomatitis, pseudocowpox, cutaneous tuberculosis, papilomatosis, oncocercosis amongst several other types of existing diseases.
The prevention of the disease from spreading is dependent on how it can be discovered on time and controlled effectively; movement control, vaccination, and slaughter management are ways to prevent the spread of the disease from affecting cattle. There is no treatment for this disease, the best thing we can do is prevent it from getting to the farm animals.
How to protect your cattle.
Develop an integrated insect management plan, since we know that, biting flies, mosquitoes, and ticks play a significant role in the spread of LSD between farm animals. Insect management options on the farm can be achieved through;
The monitoring of larval and adult flies, as well as the number of mosquitoes in order to know the appropriate time to take action.
Managing the environment in order to ensure the reduction in the number of breeding and resting sites. Do this by ensuring potholes are filled, standing waters are removed from containers, and free flow of drains.
Apply larvicide control wherever there are large water bodies.
Maintain chemical and mosquito control.
In the bid to use chemicals to achieve the aim of environmental and cattle protection, ensure you are using the product based on label instructions, and remember that these chemicals could turn around to affect your pet if care is not taken.
Conclusion.
Lumpy skin disease is a serious disease in cattle popularly physically characterized by the nodules in their skin, the transmission of LSD is through insect vectors, and vaccination is of the best methods of prevention, the disease seems to be spreading more often than before and farmers have to remain vigilant of any major change in their animals.
References.
dpi.nsw.gov.au
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/lumpy-skin-disease