Tracking the virus behind India's lumpy skin cattle crisis

In May 2022, cattle across India began dying of a mysterious illness. Since then, about 1,00,000 cows have lost their lives to a devastating outbreak of what scientists have identified as lumpy skin disease. The outbreak has severely affected India's agricultural sector, leading to staggering economic losses."It was a calamity in some ways … a national emergency," says Utpal Tatu, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc).Tatu is part of a multi-institutional team that decided to probe the cause of the outbreak. Their study, published in BMC Genomics, provides critical insights into the evolution and origins of the virus strains fueling it.A viral infection caused by the Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV), the disease is transmitted by insects such as flies and mosquitoes. It causes fever and skin nodules, and can be fatal for cattle. LSDV was first found in Zambia in 1931 and remained confined to the Sub-African region until 1989, after which it ...