ICAR develops vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle

Category
Science & Technology
Published
19th Aug, 2022

Context

In a major breakthrough, two institutes of Agri research body ICAR have developed an indigenous vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle which have spread across many States in the last few months.

About

Rising Concern:

Rajasthan, followed by Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar and Uttarakhand are reporting higher rate of deaths of cattle.

Development of Vaccine:

ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (ICAR-NRCE), Hisar (Haryana), in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh has developed the vaccine.
It is a homologous live-attenuated LSD vaccine "Lumpi-ProVacInd".

About Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR):

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE),Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
It is headquartered at New Delhi. With 102 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world.
It is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.
The ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent developments in agriculture in India through its research and technology development that has enabled the country to increase the production of foodgrains by 5.6 times, horticultural crops by 10.5 times, fish by 16.8 times, milk by 10.4 times and eggs by 52.9 times since 1950-51 to 2017-18.

Lumpy Skin Disease

LSD is endemic to Africa and parts of West Asia, where it was first discovered in 1929.
In Southeast Asia the first case of LSD was reported in Bangladesh in July 2019.
In India, which has the world’s highest 303 million heads of cattle, the disease has spread to 15 states within just 16 months.
In India it was first reported from Mayurbhanj, Odisha in August 2019.

Key Points

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral disease of cattle and water buffalo.
Virus: Poxvirus Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV).
The virus is one of three closely related species within the genus capripoxvirus, the other two species being Sheep pox virus and Goat pox virus.
Symptoms:
- It appears as nodules of two to five centimetre diameter all over the body, particularly around the head, neck, limbs, udder (mammary gland of female cattle) and genitals.
- The lumps gradually open up like large and deep wounds.
- Other clinical signs include general malaise, ocular and nasal discharge, fever, and sudden decrease in milk production.
Effect: According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the mortality rate is less than 10%.
Vectors: It spreads through mosquitoes, flies and ticks and also through saliva and contaminated water and food.
Prevention: Control and prevention of lumpy skin disease relies on four tactics - movement control (quarantine), vaccination, slaughter campaigns and management strategies.
Implications: This will have a devastating impact on the country, where most dairy farmers are either landless or marginal landholders and milk is among the cheapest protein sources.