Abstract
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary viral disease of cattle and buffaloes transmitted by blood-feeding vectors and causes high morbidity and low-to-moderate mortality. Since the first observation of LSD in Zambia in 1929, it has spread in cattle populations across African countries, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Following the recent outbreaks of LSD in South Asian countries such as India and Bangladesh, the disease was first reported in cattle farms in Nepal in June 2020. This study investigated the Nepalese LSD outbreak and confirmed that the disease spread rapidly to three neighboring districts in a month, infecting 1300 animals. Both cattle and buffaloes showed common clinical signs of LSD, with the exception that the buffaloes presented small nodular lesions without centered ulcerations. The collected samples were first tested for the presence of LSDV by real-time PCR. We further applied molecular tools, RPO30, GPCR, EEV glycoprotein gene, and B22R, for additional characterization of the LSDV isolates circulating in Nepal. Using a PCR-based Snapback assay, we confirmed that samples collected from cattle and buffaloes were positive of LSDV. Furthermore, sequence analysis (phylogenetic and multiple sequence alignments) of four selected LSDV genes revealed that the Nepal LSDVs resemble the Bangladesh and Indian isolates and the historic isolates from Kenya. We also highlight the importance of a unique B22R gene region harboring single-nucleotide insertions in LSDV Neethling and LSDV KSGPO-240 vaccine strains, enabling us to differentiate them from the Nepalese isolates and other fields isolates. This study demonstrates the importance of disease surveillance and the need to determine the source of the disease introduction, the extent of spread, modes of transmission, and the necessary control measures.
Highlights
IntroductionLumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary viral disease of cattle and buffaloes with a significant economic impact on the livestock industry, including financial losses [1,2]
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary viral disease of cattle and buffaloes with a significant economic impact on the livestock industry, including financial losses [1,2].The etiological agent is the LSD virus (LSDV), a DNA virus of the genus Capripoxvirus (CaPV) in the Poxviridae family
The current study aims to confirm the occurrence of LSDV in cattle and buffaloes in Nepal and provide a molecular characterization of the field LSDV isolates circulating in Nepal
Summary
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary viral disease of cattle and buffaloes with a significant economic impact on the livestock industry, including financial losses [1,2]. The etiological agent is the LSD virus (LSDV), a DNA virus of the genus Capripoxvirus (CaPV) in the Poxviridae family. Sheeppox virus (SPPV) and goatpox virus (GTPV) are two other capripoxviruses that infect sheep and goats, respectively. They are known to be antigenically similar to LSDV [3]. LSDV is transmitted by blood-feeding vectors such as stable flies, mosquitoes, and ticks [4–6]. The disease may vary from subclinical infection to death based on the virus strain, vector prevalence, age, or the host’s immune status [7]. The clinically sick cattle present anorexia, enlarged superficial
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