Following an outbreak in January this year, more cases of lumpy skin disease affecting cattle have been reported in the State, this time in the southern districts.
Cases have now been reported from Alappuzha, Kollam and Pathanamthitta, prompting the Animal Husbandry Department to ask dairy farmers to be on guard.
While the disease itself is neither lethal or zoonotic, it can cause reduction in milk yield, abortion, and infertility in the cattle. Caused by a virus of the family Poxviridae, lumpy skin disease spreads in cattle through mosquitoes, flies and ticks.
Symptoms include fever, lasting for three days. There will also be swelling in the limbs and enlarged superficial lymph nodes. In January, the department issued an alert after the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal, which tested samples from Palakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur, confirmed the disease.
The disease was first reported in India in Odisha in 2019, Animal Husbandry Minister K. Raju’s office said on Monday. Following the outbreak in southern districts, the Animal Husbandry Department has announced measures to check the spread.
Farmers have been advised to quarantine cattle exhibiting the symptoms and keep cattle sheds clean. Special teams comprising epidemiologists and district laboratory officers have been formed for containing the spread.
The State Institute for Animal Diseases, Palode, which is the State-level referral lab of the department, is equipped for disease diagnosis. Farmers could also contact the 24-hour helpline of the Animal Disease Control Project on 0471-2732151 for assistance.
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