Epidemiology and risk factors of lumpy skin disease outbreak in cattle in the north-west area of Bangladesh

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an acute viral disease of cattle that recently emerged in Bangladesh that negatively impacts livestock by reducing animal production, increasing management costs, and death of infected animals. Recently, Bangladesh has faced the ominous effects of LSD, like other countries. Because of this pressing concern, the present cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the infection status and risk factors of LSD outbreaks from January to December 2023 in Bangladesh’s northwest area. A total of 2858 cattle from various randomly selected farms were surveyed. The diagnosis was made on the basis of clinical inspection, clinical history, and owner complaints. The overall attack rate, mortality, and case fatality were 37.6%, 2.8%, and 7.5%, respectively, but in calves (≤1 month), the attack rate, mortality, and case fatality were 44.3%, 9.3%, and 21.3%, respectively. The infection status was discussed based on age, sex, breed, genotype, health status, immune status, coat color, farm size, farming system, separation of affected animals, separation place, use of common utensils, introduction of new cattle, use of vaccine and season of the year. Among them, age, sex, breed, health status, coat color, farm size, farming system, use of common utensils, and introduction of new cattle have no significant relationship with LSD outbreaks, but in calves (≤ 1 year), age has a significant association with the occurrence of LSD. The risk factor analysis revealed that the outbreaks of LSD were significantly (p<0.05) associated with genotypes, immune status, separation place, vaccination status of farm, and season of the year. The findings of the present study could provide useful epidemiological data on risk factors associated with LSD to livestock owners, field veterinarians, and government-level livestock regulators, which will help formulate prevention and control strategies and minimize the negative impact of LSD on cattle farming.