August 2, 2023

LSD hits Nagaland, India

Nagaland, India, has been declared a lumpy skin disease-positive state as more than 900 cattle were found afflicted with the disease in eight of its 16 districts, an official notification said on July 27.

The government of the northeastern state has decided to take all preventive measures including vaccination and isolation.

According to data compiled by the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services department till July 24, a total of 931 cattle, have been infected with lumpy skin disease (LSD) in 31 places of the eight affected districts since January. Of the total infected cattle, 49 have died.

Based on the state's data, the districts have a total of 44,853 susceptible cattle to be vaccinated, while only 1,602 have been inoculated; 522 have recovered.

On the reasons for the slow progress of vaccination, a department official said no vaccine is available for LSD as it is an emerging disease.

"The department is administering goat pox vaccine which is bringing down the severity of the disease. But it is only helping partially," the official said.

- Devdiscourse