Over 1,200 Cows Dead From Lumpy Skin Disease In Gujarat & Rajasthan: What Is It?

Lumpy skin disease spreads in cattle through blood-feeding insects. At present it poses no risk to human health.

Over 1,200 cows have died from an outbreak of contagious lumpy skin disease in Rajasthan, along with 25,000 cattle being infected with the disease in three months, according to animal husbandry officials.

The outbreak of lumpy skin disease has also affected over 17 districts in Gujarat, and killed at least 254 cattle in the past two weeks alone.

Animal husbandry department officials said that the infection has spread at an unrelenting pace in three months.

With the ongoing outbreak of monkeypox, should we be similarly concerned about lumpy skin disease? What causes lumpy skin disease? How does it spread? And who is at risk?

We answer all your questions in this FAQ.