Comparative Investigation of Clinical Findings and Epidemiologic Indices of Lumpy Skin Disease Between Native and Holstein Cattle Breeds

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is a DNA virus from the genus capripoxvirus. Though the morbidity rate of this virus is different among species, it involves all ages. This disease was limited to sub-Saharan Africa though it gradually spread to other African countries and the Middle East. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the clinical and epidemiologic indices of the virus in two groups of native and Holstein cattle. METHODS: In this research, 1652 native cattle (group 1) and 1798 Holstein cattle (group 2), which were kept in 32 -unvaccinated epidemiologic units, were studied during the field investigation about the disease in Zanjan prov-ince, at first outbreak of LSD. All major symptoms, lesions, morbidity and mortality rates observed were recorded in pre-designed forms. None of the infected cattle in this study were vaccinated. RESULTS: One hundred percent of the cattle in both groups had skin nodules. The number of nodules in group 1 was significantly fewer than that in group 2 (P≤0.05). Moreover, edema in the legs was observed in 5.88% of group 1 and 37.14% of group 2. Moreover, 11.76% of group 1 and 45.71% of group 2 suffered from pneumonia and respiratory distress. The morbidity rate was 1.03% in group 1 and 1.98% in group 2, showing a significant difference (P≤0.05); while there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that native cows are more resistant to LSDV than Holstein cows.