Eight cases of lumpy skin disease have been reported at villages in the Okakarara region of Namibia. According to South African dr Faffa Malan, Managing Director of the Ruminant Veterinary Association of South Africa (RuVasa), the disease is widely spread throughout the southern African region.
The Namibian Directorate of Veterinary Services has established movement control around the villages to prevent spreading of the disease in accordance with the Animal Health Act of 2011. Movement control measures include that only animals without visible clinical symptoms and which have been vaccinated 21 days prior to movement may be moved from the villages. Only cattle that have been vaccinated 21 days prior may be brought into the area.
These measures do not apply to cattle destined for the abattoir. Vaccines are available and farmers are urged to vaccinate their animals, and to control vectors like biting flies, mosquitoes, ticks, lice and wasps. The highly contagious disease can also be transmitted through close contact with infected animals or contaminated feed and water troughs. Farmers who fail to use clean needles when vaccinating animals may also contribute to the spread of the disease
Hot, humid weather during summer and autumn causes vectors in low-lying marshy areas to multiply and increase their activity. The outbreak is an indication that animals had not been vaccinated before the rainy season. Cattle displaying clinical signs can be treated with vitamins, anti-inflammatory medication and antibiotics to prevent secondary infection.
Clinical symptoms are tell-tale lumps on the skin, fever, weight loss, a runny discharge from the nose, enlarged lymph nodes, poor production and infertility. Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), a member of the Poxviridae family. It is an enzootic disease that develops quickly and can be fatal, leading to food insecurity and economic devastation in the livestock industry. The economic impact is related to a drop in milk production, poor-quality hides and meat, as well as abortion and death.
Cases of lumpy skin disease have been reported in villages in the Okakarara area of Namibia. (Source: https://www.namibiansun.com/news/novaccine-against-lumpy-skin/)
Worldwide spread
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has listed LSD as one of the most economically important and notifiable trans-boundary viral animal diseases.
The disease, which was first reported in Zambia in 1929, is considered endemic in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It was thought to be confined to various areas of Africa, where periodic outbreaks were recorded until 1986. LSD first occurred outside Africa in Israel between 1986 and 1988. Since then, it has gradually spread to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russian and the Balkans. In 2019, new cases were reported in South and East Asia, thus presenting an ongoing threat to all the Indo Asian countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Identification of presently active cases in Asia, including China, Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia, has raised concerns about the intrusion of this virus into formerly LSD-free countries with large natïve cattle populations, such as Australia. Besides controlling vectors, a number of control measures may be necessary to prevent spreading of the disease to former disease-free areas or stamping it out in an area.
These would include strict control measures, including quarantine, restriction of animal movement, vaccination, isolation and/ or slaughter of affected animals, proper disposal of carcasses, and cleaning and disinfecting of premises. Sometimes, culling the whole herd has been recommended, but where the disease is endemic, animals on affected farms are usually isolated and given supported treatment. This may include wound dressings to prevent fly infestation and secondary infection.
Contact the state veterinarian at Okakarara at 067-31-7901 for more information.
Source reference
Akther, M., Akter, S.H., Sarker, S., Aleri, J.W., Annandale, H., Abraham, S., Uddin, J.M. (2023) Global Burden of Lumpy Skin Disease, Outbreaks, and Future Challenges. National Library of Medicine doi: 10.3390/v15091861 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10535115/
