Vaccination against nodular dermatitis in cattle as an indirect cause of abortions

Abstract

Lumpy skin disease was first found in the Russian Federation in 2015. Since 2016, vaccination against lumpy skin disease has been mandatory for cattle of all age groups. In this regard, studying the effect of vaccination against lumpy skin disease on the reproductive ability of cows is relevant. One of the reasons for the decrease in the reproductive ability of cows is abortions at different stages of pregnancy. Statistical processing of abortions in Holstein cows for 2019-2022 was carried out. The first experimental group included animals, in which abortions were diagnosed in the period from the first to the sixth month after vaccination against lumpy skin disease; the second group – from the seventh to the twelfth month after vaccination. The total number of abortions during the reference period was 436. In the first experimental group, 232 abortions were diagnosed or 53.2% of all abortions, which was 6.4% more than in the second experimental group. A comparative assessment of the percentage of abortions at different stages of pregnancy indicated that in the first experimental group, abortions with a pregnancy period of less than 70 days accounted for 52.1%, which was 2.8% less than in the second experimental group, and abortions in late stages, correspondingly more by 2.8%. Thus, vaccination against lumpy skin disease may be one of the indirect causes of abortions in cows.