Lumpy skin disease is one of the diseases of cattle that is usually ignored but can have a high impact on the cattle.
Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease transmitted by either mosquitoes or midges. The disease can be identified as broad nodules on the skin of the animal ranging between 1 to 5cm. The early signs can be confused with other diseases and include fever, increased nasal secretions or eye secretions and loss of appetite.
Disease impacts
The highest impact of this disease on the herd is increased infertility, decrease in milk production and nodules on the skin which makes the hide unsellable.
The nodules can also be on the throat and lungs which causes difficulty in breathing and the cow can die.
Treatment and prevention
As the disease is caused by a virus, it can not be treated by antibiotics but you can use antibiotics to treat the secondary skin infections on the nodules and to control the fever.
All the clinical signs and fever can be prevented when a farmer uses lumpy vax vaccine to vaccinate his/ her herd. The vaccine is used by injecting 1ml of the vaccine under the skin once every year. The vaccine is safe for use in pregnant animals and is most effective when used at the onset of rains.
