The contagious viral disease causes fever and nodules on the skin of the affected animal and can lead to its death.
India is in the midst of a widespread outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease which has killed thousands of cattles across over a dozen states including Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The disease has infected 16.42 lakh cattle in 197 districts. Around 75,000 had been killed between July and September 11, 2022, as per data from the Department of Animal Husbandry.
The outbreak has also hit the production of milk which is down by over 20 percent in Rajasthan.
The contagious viral disease causes fever and nodules on the skin of the affected animal and can lead to its death. It is spread by mosquitoes, flies, lice, and wasps coming in direct contact with the cattle or through contaminated food and water.
One question which can arise in many minds is if milk from cattle infected by LSD is safe to consume. Here’s the answer.
Is milk from LSD infected cattle safe to drink?
The disease does not affect humans as it is a non-zoonotic infection and not transmissible from animals to humans, a senior official of Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) recently told PTI.
Ashok Kumr Mohanty, who is the Joint Director at IVRI said there is no effect on safety and quality of milk from the infected cattle, which is safe to consume. He also said that there is no issue with quality, irrespective of whether it is consumed after boiling or without boiling.
However, the infection may affect the production of milk in cattle
Depending on the severity of the disease and immunity level of the animal, milk production can get reduced. This can have a localised impact on milk production.
"When cattle are infected, the animals become weak due to nodule formation, fever and other symptoms. This severely affects milk production. When the animal is dying, its entire body system is affected," Mohanty was quoted as saying.
However, this impact on milk output of an infected cattle can be reduced with vaccination. Without vaccination, a first time infection can end up reducing the milk production of a cattle by 40-50 percent, the IVRI official added.
READ | Lumpy skin disease: Massive protest by BJP in Rajasthan over cattle deaths
(With inputs from PTI)
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 "Lumpy Skin Disease outbreak: Milk from infected cattle safe to drink? Know here")
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