Clinical signs:
The incubation period of lumpy skin disease is 4 to 14 days. Fever is the first clinical sign accompanied by depression, salivation, nasal and eye discharge. When fever reaches a second peak, firm raised round nodules up to 5 cm in diametre appear throughout the full depth of the skin. The whole body can be covered by nodules, however, the most common places are the head, neck, limbs, genitalia and under the tail. In severe cases, nodules can also develop inside the mouth, nose and many other internal organs which can cause signs such as excessive salivation, respiratory distress and abortion. The skin nodules contain a firm, creamy grey or yellow mass of tissue. Most nodules heal over several weeks, but leave a disfiguring scar which damages the hide. Some nodules may become permanent hard lumps and some may disappear completely. The regional lymph nodes become enlarged and oedema develops in the udder, brisket and legs. Very few animals die of lumpy skin disease. The greatest loss from the disease is the decrease in milk yield, the loss in condition the rejection or reduced value of the hide.
Treatment:
No treatment is available for lumpy skin disease. Antibiotics are usually used to prevent the sick animals from secondary bacterial infections.
Control measures:
Vaccination is the most effective method to control the disease. When
lumpy skin disease is suspected, samples from lesions should be sent in
sterile containers on ide for laboratory tests. In the event of an outbreak,
the sick animals should be kept in fly-free places and all the in- contact
animals vaccinated.
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