Lumpy skin disease

Lumpy skin disease virus causes lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle and buffalo, where infection rate is between 5% and 45% and the mortality rate is up to 10%. This pox virus is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, including flies, mosquitoes or ticks. LSD is endemic in southern African countries and in recent years has been rapidly spreading across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia, central Asia, China and Southeast Asia. It is considered a rapidly emerging disease of significant impact, and while mortality rates are relatively low, the disease causes great loss to productivity and trade.