Virus has killed 100,000 cattle in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — A viral disease has killed nearly 100,000 cows and buffalo in India and infected more than 2 million more. The outbreak has caused devastating loss of income for farmers, as the disease not only results in the death of their animals, but also in reduced milk production, malnourished animals and birth problems. The disease, called lumpy skin disease, is transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes and ticks. Infected cows and buffalo get a fever and develop bumps on their skin. Farmers have suffered severe losses due to natural disasters in the past year: An unprecedented heat wave in India reduced wheat production in April, lack of rain in the east of the country affected winter crops such as pulses, and a particularly rainy September has damaged rice paddies in the north. And now, the virus has spread to at least 15 states, doubling the number of dead animals in three weeks, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The contagion in livestock has ...