Lumpy Skin Disease: A Comprehensive Review on Virus Biology, Pathogenesis, and Sudden Global Emergence

Abstract

The lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is an animal virus and a member of the Poxviridae family, which causes lumpy skin disease (LSD) in livestock animals like cows and buffaloes. LSD is an important transboundary disease of economic importance that was first discovered in 1929 in Zambia. LSDV has been prevalent in African countries, where several outbreaks have been reported previously. However, the virus has spread rapidly across the Middle East in the past two decades, reaching Russia and, recently, the Asian subcontinent. With the unprecedented cluster outbreaks reported across Asian countries, LSDV is certainly undergoing an epidemiological shift and expanding its geographical footprint globally. The recent LSD outbreaks have gained attention from global regulatory authorities and raised serious concerns among epidemiologists and veterinary researchers. Although there is no dearth of knowledge about LSDV, the disease lacks networked global surveillance and management, consequently making the current statistics deficient, fragmented, and unreliable. Hence, recurrent LSD outbreaks seriously threaten the global livestock industry. This review provides recent insights into LSDV by augmenting latest literature associated with its epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, currently-available intervention strategies, and economic implications on the dairy industries. The review also critically examines the changing epidemiological footprint of LSD and speculates on the possible reasons contributing to the ongoing multi-country LSD outbreak.

Epidemiological and economic consequences of lumpy skin disease outbreaks on farm households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

“…The findings further revealed the farmers' perceptions about the reasons for LSD. For instance, climate change can impacts the incidence and spread of lumpy skin disease through various direct and indirect mechanisms (47). Therefore, it is important to consider the potential impacts of climate change when designing and implementing measures to prevent and control the spread of LSD.…”

Global Burden of Lumpy Skin Disease, Outbreaks, and Future Challenges

“…Recent studies on the susceptibility and resistance of LSDV describe the virus as greatly susceptible to a wide range of temperature (55–65 °C) and pH (6.6–8.6) variation and resistant to a wide range of physical and chemical components. It is resistant to inactivation and can remain viable for up to 35 days in desiccated skin crusts, for >33 days in skin necrotic nodules and for at least 18 days in air-dried hides [ 13 , 36 ]. It may persist in the environment for longer periods of time, especially in dark conditions in contaminated animal sheds, where it can persists for several months [ 37 ].…”

“…LSD shows a progressive pattern of pathogenesis from viral inoculation followed by implantation and multiplication locally, then development of viremia resulting in viral transportation to the specific tissues and organs [ 57 , 76 ]. The incubation period of LSDV is approximately 5 weeks in the case of natural infections, while it ranges from 4 to 7 days experimentally [ 13 ]. Similar to the other members of Capripoxvirus, LSDV has a tissue trophism for keratinocytes [ 77 ].…”

“…This contagious disease is transmitted by a variety of vectors such as biting flies, lice, ticks, mosquitoes, and wasps, but also through close contact with infected animals or contaminated feed and water troughs [ 5 , 13 ]. Hot and humid weather is responsible for vector multiplication and an increase in activity, making the rainy summer and autumn season and low marshy land epidemiologically more suitable for the occurrence of this disease [ 9 , 14 ].…”

“…LSD is characterized by high morbidity and low mortality rates and, depending on the host immune response, affected animals can display acute or chronic clinical disease [ 13 ]. Fever, anorexia, lymphadenopathy, rhinorrhea and distinct skin lesions define the acute infection stage, whereas animals in the chronic infection stage display poor production and infertility.…”