‘Lumpy Skin Disease’ hits cattle in Cuttack, many calves dead

A deadly disease has spread among the cattle in Cuttack’s Nischintakoili block killing many cows and calves in the last few months.

The symptoms of the disease include wounds on their bodies including faces and legs. The infected cattle lose their appetite and cannot stand on their legs. Puss comes out of the wounds and the cattle dies after some days.

As per reports, many cattle have died of the disease in the area and they continue to die. While the villagers alleged the doctors have failed to identify the disease so they do not know its treatment, the veterinarians term it as ‘Lumpy Skin Disease’.

“There is an unknown disease attacking our cows and calves. Forget about treatment, the doctors can’t even diagnose it. The medicines that they are prescribing have failed. Three cows have already died. There are two more infected cows in my cowshed that may die soon,” said Debendra Sahu, a local cow herder.

Another cow herder, Kavita Rath said, “One calf in my cowshed has developed lumps on its skin. Those lumps are growing in size and accumulating puss in them. The calf is not eating anything and lost a lot of weight. The doctors have come several times and injected it with medicines but in vain.”

Asked about the disease, veterinary doctor Sudipta Sahu said, “This disease is called ‘lumpy skin’. This is a viral disease. This time around, the virus is attacking the calves between the age of seven days to six months.”

“We have vaccines for lumpy skin disease and the immunisation process is going on regularly. However, as per the vaccine protocol, we cannot inoculate calves below six months,” Sahu said.

Unfortunately, lumpy cow skin disease has no direct antiviral treatment. Instead, the infected animals receive supportive care, which involves the use of antibiotics, painkillers, and wound care sprays to treat symptoms.