What is LSD in cattle?

Dear Prof McCrindle,

My neighbour says I must vaccinate my cows against LSD. What is that? Kind regards,

Louis

Dear Louis,

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is transmitted by biting insects such as mosquitoes, midges and biting flies. Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) manufactures a vaccine that is extremely effective in preventing outbreaks, provided that cattle owners vaccinate according to the recommended schedule available on the OBP website. The vaccine can be purchased directly from OBP. However, it is much easier for small-scale farmers to purchase it from their regional agricultural co-operative, especially if they own few cattle.

If your cattle are on communal grazing, you can approach the local animal health technician or veterinarian employed by Animal Health Services to help you purchase the vaccine and show you how to vaccinate your cattle. Commercial farmers are advised to work together with a farmers’ association.

It is strongly recommended that commercial farmers who own very large herds approach the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation or Milk Producers’ Organisation in this regard.

The main sign of disease is a number of circular swellings all over the animal. The worst-affected animals are usually weanlings, young cows and stud bulls. The skin under each swelling can die and fall off, leaving a wound that becomes infected with maggots. Often, unvaccinated animals become infected with three-day stiff sickness at the same time as the LSD virus is transmitted by the same biting flies. If this happens, the animals will go down and need to be fed and watered where they lie, as the pain is too intense for them to stand up.

My personal approach to treating these animals differs slightly from the recommended treatment and is based on experience. The first thing I suggest is that all ‘downers’ or badly affected animals are sprayed with a registered insecticide daily to prevent infestation of the wounds with maggots. This also kills biting flies, mosquitoes and midges that can transmit the virus to other animals. The cheapest anti-inflammatory medication for bovines is salicylic acid, which was first found in willow bark and has been used for thousands of years to reduce pain in humans and animals. This is currently known as aspirin, and I give it orally to reduce pain and inflammation. My favourite brand is Disprin, which dissolves easily and can be given orally at a dose of one to two pills per 100kg of animal weight, mixed in water. All the wounds on the animals should be sprayed with an over-the-counter insecticidal spray containing gentian violet. The antibiotic of choice is tetracycline injected intramuscularly. This is antibacterial and also reduces the likelihood of a flare-up of gallsickness due to lowered immunity. Kind regards,

Prof Cheryl McCrindle

ȊȲSource: Mazloum A, Van Schalkwyk A, Babiuk S et al. ‘Lumpy skin disease: history, current understanding and research gaps in the context of recent geographic expansion’. Front Microbiol. 2023 Nov 2;14:1266759. Visit pubmed. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38029115.

Cheryl McCrindle is an emeritus full professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria, and has extensive experience in animal health. Email her at farmersweekly@caxton.co.za. Subject line: Ask our vet.