Lumpy skin disease

• Cause: lumpy skin disease virus, of the genus capripox virus.
• Signs: pyrexia, lacrimation, acute milk drop, peripheral lymphadenopathy, development of nodules over the head, neck, udder and perineum which later develop necrotic plugs, mucopurulent ocular nasal discharge, keratitis, ulcerative lesions on the mucus membranes of the ocular, oral and nasal mucosa, limb and brisket oedema and a reluctance to move,  abortion and temporary or permanent infertility in bulls.
• Diagnosis: clinical signs consistent with disease, electron microscopy, virus neutralization and definitively PCR.
• Treatment: restriction on movements and cull affected animals.
• Prognosis: poor.

Geographic incidence

• The disease is endemic in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East and in 2015, the first documented incursion into Europe following a disease incident in Greece in 2014.
• More recently outbreaks have been reported in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, India, South Asia, Russia, Armenia, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Age predisposition

• All age groups are susceptible.

Breed/Species predisposition

• European breeds are more severely affected than the Bos indicus breeds of the tropics.

Public health considerations

• None.
• Non-zoonotic.

Cost considerations

• The disease is a source of significant economic loss through trade restrictions placed on endemic regions, permanent hide damage from chronic skin lesions, reduced milk production, reduced fertility performance from losses in abortion and temporary or permanent loss of fertility in bulls.