According to an economic survey conducted in 2021-2022, India accounts for about 23 per cent of the global milk production and three per cent of the total meat production in the world.
The rapid surge in the number of lumpy-skin-disease infected cattle has become a cause of distress and economic loss for the livestock sector of Indian agriculture. Cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) were initially reported in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan around July 2022.
As per the statistics collected in September 2022, the disease has ramified into 15 Indian states, causing almost 97,000 cattle deaths. It has given a serious blow to milk and meat production in India. Even though it is a non-zoonotic disease (cannot be transmitted to humans), Indian research community is on its toes to manufacture effective vaccination for this disease so that they can curtail the economic loss.
What is lumpy skin disease and how did it emerge in India?
This disease is....
