The contagious nodular dermatitis (LSD – Lumpy Skin Disease), a viral disease that affects cattle, but it is not transmissible to man. Just in June the first were reported 5 outbreaks of the disease in Sardinia in the province of Nuoro and Lombardy in the province of Mantua. The LSD, Endmic of sub -Sasaharan Africashe arrived in Europe in 2015 through Turkey and, since then, it has spread in different nations from Eastern European and Greece, but had never previously hit our peninsula. There is one preventive vaccination to be administered to cattle in the farms, but in the event that an epidemic outbreak is reported in an area, the control measures To be adopted are quite complex and the economic consequences on the agri -food chain are relevant. Infected animals go foldedThere are Restrictions in circulation of cattle outside the region where the outbreak is identified and the infected farms are blocked.
What is contagious nodular dermatitis of cattle and how it is transmitted
There Lumpy Skin Diseasethis is the international denomination of contagious nodular dermatitis, is caused by a Poxivirus, DNA virus of the same family as that of smallpox. It affects exclusively the cattle both of and wild breeding Like the zebù, the buffalo or the gazelle. It is not transmitted to man neither by direct contact with infected animals nor through the ingestion of meat.
Ibovini are infected through the sting of hematophagi insects as mosquitoes of the genre Aedes And Culexmosses horses (Stomoxs Calcitrans) or even from ticks. The more rarely the disease spreads by contact between infected animals.
What are the symptoms of beef dermatitis, how it is and the control measures
Once penetrated, the virus requires aincubation which varies from 1 to 4 weeks and is followed by a series of symptoms they involve fever even beyond the 41 ° Cdrastic reduction of milk production, anorexia, Edema of the limbs, conjunctivitis And then the formation of a series of nodules of about 0.5 – 5 cm on the whole body; Hence the name of nodular dermatitis. The nodules can persist for several months and then leave scars on the animal.
To check the spread of the epidemic, a series of measures must be implemented by biosyphicity farms. Considering that the virus is sensitive to disinfectants Like sodium hypochlorite and ethanol, they must be carefully disinfected means, equipment And clothing Incoming and exiting the infected breeding, the state of health of the animals must be monitored and one carried out vaccination campaign on healthy specimens.
In the event of an epidemic outbreak in cattle, complex control measures are triggered with serious economic consequences for the supply chain. These include thereduction of infected animalsThe Blocking of farms And Restrictions on livestock handling. Although there is a preventive vaccination, the management of a conclaimed epidemic therefore remains a significant challenge.
