Lumpy skin disease outbreak in India

In November 2019 lumpy skin disease in the country was confirmed in a lab.[6] It was mainly restricted to sporadic cases in locations such as Odisha.[11][12] The origin or source of the disease in India,[13] as well as the outbreak in 2022 remained unknown.[14] A comparison and analysis of the 2022 outbreak with the 2019 version found differences in the disease.[15] States such as Kerala reported 30-40 cases each between December 2019 and January 2021.[13] In August 2020 cases were reported from Assam.[16]

Cases were first reported in April 2022 from Gujarat.[17][18][19][20] In late July 2022 Gujarat introduced bans on cattle movement in select districts.[21] Maharashtra's first case was reported on August 4 in Jalgaon district.[22] On 6 August Rajasthan imposed restrictions on cattle fairs.[23] On 20 August Panchkula district banned inter-district transport.[24] On 24 August Uttar Pradesh started introducing restrictions.[25] Affected districts in Madhya Pradesh saw movement bans.[26] On 14 September cattle transport in Mumbai was banned;[17] health certification is needed for movement.[27] On 23 September Uttar Pradesh initiated more bans in movement of cattle.[28] States such as Chhattisgarh initiated preventive measures even while it reported no cases of the disease.[29] Delhi started free vaccinations on 26 September.[30]

The direct economic loss includes the value of the dead cattle, and associated losses such as decrease in the production of milk, including a decrease of yield in infected cattle.[31] Movement restrictions add to the indirect losses.[31] In August 2022 Gujarat reported a dip in milk collection amounting to approximately 1,00,000 liters per day in certain locations.[32] Collection of milk in Rajasthan fell by over 20% in August 2022; by September collection had decreased by 500,000-600,000 litres per day.[33] In some places collection has fallen to zero in Rajasthan.[33] This has not impacted the price of milk.[34] On 12 September Mother Dairy's managing director said the impact on production was minor.[10]

Indian laboratories have undertaken research on a domestic vaccine since 2019.[15][35] Lumpi-ProVacInd was launched in August 2022.[36] The vaccine has not been cleared for emergency use.[37]

Goat pox vaccine has been found effective and is being administered.[37][38] Veterinary Biological Research Institute, Telangana,[39][40] Indian Immunologicals and Hester Biosciences are manufacturing the goat pox vaccine.[41] India also has capabilities for manufacturing a sheep pox vaccine.[42]

Testing has been expanded.[43][44]

Public statements and explanations have been made related to the disease not impacting humans, and the impact of the disease on milk or meat.[41][45] This includes statements by the Maharashtra animal husbandry commissioner,[22][46] an Indian Council of Medical Research scientist,[22] a joint director of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute,[41] and head of department of veterinary medicine at a university in Punjab.[47]

• Roche, X; Rozstalnyy, A; TagoPacheco, D; Kamata, A; et al. (2020), "Introduction and spread of lumpy skin disease in South, East and Southeast Asia" (PDF), FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 183, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• "India: Outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease in Cattle Raises Alarm". USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Attaché Report (GAIN). 9 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

Journals

• Gupta, Tania; Patial, Vanita; Bali, Diksha; et al. (2020). "A review: Lumpy skin disease and its emergence in India". Veterinary Research Communications. 44 (3–4): 111–118. doi:10.1007/s11259-020-09780-1. ISSN 0165-7380. PMID 32857262. S2CID 221359743.
• Kumar, Naveen; Chander, Yogesh; Kumar, Ram; Khandelwal, Nitin; Riyesh, Thachamvally; Chaudhary, Khushboo; Shanmugasundaram, Karuppusamy; Kumar, Sanjit; Kumar, Anand; Gupta, Madhurendu K.; Pal, Yash; Barua, Sanjay; Tripathi, Bhupendra N. (11 January 2021). Roques, Pierre (ed.). "Isolation and characterization of lumpy skin disease virus from cattle in India". PLOS ONE. 16 (1): e0241022. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241022. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7799759. PMID 33428633.
• Azeem, Shahan; Sharma, Banshi; Shabir, Shafqat; Akbar, Haroon; Venter, Estelle (2022). "Lumpy skin disease is expanding its geographic range: A challenge for Asian livestock management and food security". The Veterinary Journal. 279: 105785. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2021.105785. PMID 34915159. S2CID 245183135.
• Sethi, Rajesh Kumar; Senapati, Santosh Kumar; Selim, Ahmed Magdy; Acharya, Aditya Prasad; Mishra, Chinmoy; Das, Manoranjan; Hegazy, Yamen Mohammed; Biswal, Shuvranshu Shekhar (2022). "Molecular epidemiology of lumpy skin disease outbreak in Odisha, India". Veterinary Research Communications. 46 (3): 711–717. doi:10.1007/s11259-022-09886-8. ISSN 0165-7380. PMID 35459980. S2CID 248345692.