#9: Lumpy Skin Disease

All you need to know about LSD for UPSC Pre and Mains

Syllabus Mapping: GS3 (Economics of Animal Rearing)

Lumpy Skin Disease is making news. It is even called the Corona virus of animals for the reference. What all do you need to know as a UPSC aspirant on this topic?

You will find it in this post. Do share it with your aspirant friends and save the link of this post to your notes :D

What is LSD? 😱

- Caused by LSD virus
- belongs to genus Capripoxvirus
- Same family as that of goatpox and sheeppox
- Affects lymph nodes of infected animal
- Nodes enlarge appearing like lymphs
- Nodules may later turn ulcers
- It is not zoonotic

How does it spread? 🖐️

- direct contact w/ vectors
- contaminated food & water
- animal semen during artificial insemination

Symptoms 🤒

- enlarged lumps on skin
- high fever and low milk yield
- discharge off eyes and nose and salivation
- depression and loss of appetite
- weakness
- infertility & abortion

How did it spread in India? 😬

- first case in Zambia in 1929
- 2019: S. Asia spread starts
- In India potentially from Bangladesh in 2019 (porous borders -> illegal cattle trade)

Economic Implications 💸

2019-2020: $1.45bn direct loss of livestock & production

- FAO: "Substantial and severe" economic losses
- low milk production and income losses
- reproductive problems
- lower draught capacity

Indian Case 😟

- Milk: 210 million tonne liter pa
- largest cow & buffalo headcount in the world
- RJ: 3-6 lac liter milk loss per day
- threatened livelihood of small poultry farmers

Image: DownToEarth.org

Spread Control Measures (FAO recommendations) 💪

- vaccination of suspected population
- quarantine & movement control of bovines
- biosecurity implementation via shed sanitization & spraying insecticides
- strengthen active-passive surveillance
- awareness on risk mitigation

Indian Govt efforts🥺

- Measure compliant with FAO recommendations
- Goatpox vaccine found 'very effective'
- 97 lac doses administered till first week of September
- Major breakthrough: ICAR developed indigenous LSD Vaccine based on 2019 spread

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