Bangladesh dairy farmers asked not to panic as lumpy skin disease strikes cattle

Livestock officials have asked the dairy farmers not to panic after lumpy skin disease, which is characterised by nodules on the skin, has spread in the cattle farms in Chattogram.

The disease was detected for the first time in Bangladesh at a farm in Karnaphuli Upazila’s Shikalbaha in July, according to Mohammad Reazul Haque, Chattogram district livestock officer. 

Experts believe the disease spread in Bangladesh from India, he told bdnews24.com. 

There are 1,655 cattle farms in Chattogram.

The disease has spread among around 20 percent of the cows in these farms, according to the government.

Cattle raised at homes have also been affected.

Farmers claim the number of affected cattle is higher than what the authorities say.

The lumpy skin disease has spread mostly in Karnaphuli, Sitakunda, and Banshkhali Upazila. Cattle in Satkania and Mirsarai have also been affected.

“It has spread in an epidemic proportion from one cow to another,” Nayeem Uddin, general secretary of Chittagong Dairy Farm Association, told bdnews24.com.

“We are very much concerned about the outbreak,” he added, noting that the disease has spread to 155 farms registered under the association.

Karnaphuli Upazila Livestock Officer Rakibul Islam said they conducted tests after bringing the required kits from abroad to confirm that it is indeed lumpy skin disease or LSD.

Almost all the farms in his Upazila have been affected, he said.

“But it can be treated very simply. Cattle have died at some farms may be because of wrong treatment,” he said.

The district livestock officer, Reazul, said they were vaccinating cattle at some farms experimentally.

“A cow can recover through normal treatment in 10 to 14 days. But it can’t be neglected. The farms must be kept clean,” he added.   

WHAT FAO SAYS

In a field manual for veterinarians, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization states that the disease is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, other haematophagous insects, and flies.

In addition to vectors, transmission may occur through consumption of contaminated feed or water, direct contact, natural mating or artificial insemination.

LSD is classified as a transboundary animal disease that can rapidly spread across national borders and reach epidemic proportions, thus requiring regional cooperation in prevention, control and eradication.

The disease has dramatic effects on rural livelihoods, which are often strongly dependent on cattle, as it slashes milk production and may lead to sterility in bulls and fertility problems in females.

It damages hides, and causes death due to secondary bacterial infections.

Economic effects at national level are also devastating as the presence of the disease triggers strict trade restrictions.

Endemic across Africa and the Middle East, the disease has, since 2015, spread into the Balkans, the Caucasus and the southern Russian Federation.

Large-scale vaccination is the most effective way of limiting the spread of the disease.