Epidemiology and genetic characteristics of the lumpy skin disease virus in Yunnan province, China from 2019 to 2023

Abstract

Background Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) and has emerged as a significant threat to the cattle and water buffalo industries in China. Investigating the epidemiological characteristics of LSDV will be beneficial to the control and prevention of this disease. In this study, a Taqman-Probe-Based real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was developed for detecting LSDV nucleotides, 2495 tissue or blood samples were collected from Yunnan province and tested using the established qPCR assay. The GPCR and p32 genes of the LSDV-positive samples were amplified, sequenced, and analyzed. Additionally, an infectious LSDV strain was isolated from one positive sample, and its biological characteristics were explored. Results The established qPCR assay demonstrated high sensitivity with a limit of detection of 4.83 copies/µL. Out of the 2495 collected specimens, six (0.24%) samples were positive for LSDV nucleotides, and all positive samples belonged to the skin scab samples. Molecular and phylogenetic analysis based on the P32 and GPCR genes revealed that six LSDV strains were genetically similar to field LSDV strains from China, Russia, and Thailand. One LSDV strain was isolated and replicated well in PST cells, while which was not sensitive to the MDBK cells. Conclusions This study provides the first report on the epidemiological characteristics of LSDV in Yunnan province of China, which confirmed the prevalence of LSDV in Cattle in this province. These findings will contribute to the development of effective strategies for the prevention and control of LSDV.