Lumpy Skin Disease

 Five million dairy farmers and meat sellers are being hit hard by a Lumpy Skin Disease outbreak affecting their cattle.

What is Lumpy Skin Disease?

The LSD virus, caused by the Capripoxvirus, is an emerging threat to livestock worldwide. It is genetically related to the goatpox and sheeppox virus family.

LSD is primarily transmitted in cattle and water buffalo by blood-feeding insects. Its clinical signs include the appearance of circular, firm nodes on the animal’s hide. They immediately start losing weight and have a reduced milk yield.

Since its first outbreak in 1928 in Africa, no direct transmission of LSD to humans has been reported. Still, it is listed as a notifiable disease due to its social and economic impact on the places that it spreads in.