Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is the causative agent of lumpy skin disease (LSD) that has been recently reported in the South-East and North Asian parts of the Russian Federation. During 2017–2019, there were more than 30 LSD outbreaks in Saratov Region despite active inoculation of cattle with heterologous vaccine. Importantly, the first case of the novel recombinant LSDV strain was reported here in 2017. This study aimed to determine the main clonal lineage(s) of LSDV strains circulated within Saratov Region and other regions of Russia since the first introduction of LSDV. The molecular typing and subtyping based on the coding regions of the G-protein-coupled chemokine receptor (GPCR) gene resulted in a discrimination of all outbreak-related LSDV strains into two main types, such as Type I and Type II, and subtypes Ia-d and IIa-g. Phylogenetically, eleven LSDV lineages were revealed in Russia including the five ones in Saratov Region. They were the following: (i) the Neethling wild Type Ia/2017; (ii) the recombinant Saratov IIc/2017/2019; (iii) the specific Dergachevskyi IId/2017; (iv) the Khvalynsky IIg/2018, and (v) the Haden-Type IIa lineage for the six LSDV strains detected in cattle immunized with heterologous vaccine during the last LSD outbreak in the Saratov Region, Nesterovo Village, in 2019 (Nesterovo-2019 strains). A single LSDV strain detected in Saratov Region in 2017 had the same Type Ia that was identified in 2016 in the bordered Republic of Kazakhstan. Phylogeographic analysis demonstrated three nominal clusters of LSDV types in the following Russian Federation territories: (I) the Central European part; (II) the South-East of the European part; (III) the North Asian part. Cluster I was represented by mainly Type I strains, while both Clusters 2 and 3 contained predominantly Type II strains. The Clusters I and II partially overlapped, while Cluster 3 was separate. Multiple introductions of LSDV into Saratov Region in 2017–2019 using GPCR-based molecular typing and subtyping were revealed. This scheme is a promising tool for molecular discrimination of LSDV strains derived from both vaccinated and unvaccinated against LSD cattle as well as for molecular epidemiology.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an infectious disease mostly of cattle. The typical clinical picture is usually characterized by the appearance of multiple nodules on the skin and internal organs. They can cover the entire body of the animal in the course of severe illness. This disease causes serious economic damage despite the fact that mortality of cattle with LSD is often low. Now LSD is a serious danger for cattle in the Asian part of Russia (part of the territory of the Russian Federation geographically belonging to Asia) and the Southeast Asia. Initially LSD was an endemic disease in many Sub-Saharan African countries, then it spread to Asia and Europe. In order to prevent the spread of the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), strict quarantine is introduced, vector control is carried out and various other LSD control measures are implemented. An effective vaccination campaign is required to significantly reduce the morbidity. However, the risk of spreading this transboundary disease to neighboring LSDV virus-free countries and regions of Asia, remains high enough. This article contains a summary of the available information about the spread of LSD in Asian part of Eurasia for the period of 1984 - February 2022. We are also discussing the latest available findings on the epidemiology of LSD and the methods currently used for the prevention and control of the LSDV.