Considered our mothers, gaumata, the cows are suffering from a difficult-to-treat disease spread by a deadly virus: Lumpy Skin Disease. 57,000 of the infected cows are dead in India until now and many more are infected.
Lumpy Skin Disease
Lumpy Skin Disease is spreading across cows like jungle fire and there is not much of great help to these Lumpy Cows. This communicable disease can even be transferred by a mosquito or fly. A mosquito that stings an infected cow becomes a carrier and can transfer the virus into a healthy cow.
It has spread a lot in the same way resulting in 2 to 5 cm large lumps on the skin of the cattle. Accompanied by high fever, this disease brings a lot of weakness to the body of the cattle. After that, a cow’s immunity decides whether it can fight the disease or not. In case of failure, death awaits at the end of the struggle.
Symptoms of Lumpy Skin Disease
If you have cattle around you or in your house and you are worried about the disease, then I suggest you check for the following symptoms in the cow:
- High fever
- Reduced milk production
- Skin nodules
- Loss of appetite
- Increased nasal discharge
- Watery eyes
- Increased saliva production
Stages of Lumpy Skin Disease
The disease has certain stages which are shown below:
1. Early Stage of LSD
In this stage, you will find very small nodules on the cattle which look like small bumps on their skin.
2. Second Stage of LSD
With time, these lumps will grow as big as 5 cm and then pop from the middle leaving scabs on the skin.
3. Third Stage of LSD
As you can see in the image, this stage turns the scabs into holes that can get infected very easily, so please take extra care of the cattle during this stage.
Once the third stage passes, your cattle can either survive, the skin holes can catch infection or it can die.
However, in case of survival, please note that the cow will still suffer from weakness which can attract secondary disease. No matter what, damage control is really important in any of these cases.
Death due to LSD
Cows can easily die of Lumpy Skin Disease and more than 57 thousand are dead in India owing to this disease. In such a case, please follow the below mentioned directions to stop the further spread:
- Choose a place to bury the cattle that is far away from the rest of the cows.
- Bury the cattle in at least 1.5 metre deep pit.
- Add salt on the cattle in case of pus formation.
Prevention of LSD
If you want to prevent your cattle from coming in contact with this deadly virus, then you should do the following things:
- Quarantine your cattle inside away from the infected cattle.
- Drive away all the mosquitoes and flies from the area.
- Use neem smoke or anything else to do it.
Conclusion
I hope you found this article informative and that it could help you or others around you. Please take note of any symptoms in your cattle so that you can help them as soon as possible.
Besides, if your cattle are safe, then you should quarantine them inside and work towards preventing virus transfer.
Also, you will be glad to know that the government has started vaccination to restrict the spread of this deadly virus. Make sure to get them vaccinated as soon as possible. Also, share this article as much as possible to spread awareness on the topic.
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