Hundreds Of Cows And Buffaloes In OKU South Sumatra Infected With LSD Virus

OKU officers injected vitamins into livestock that contracted smallpox on Thursday. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Hundreds of cattle and buffalo belonging to breeders in Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) Regency, South Sumatra, have contracted the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) virus or infectious skin smallpox. The Sub-Coordinator of Fishery and Livestock Animal Health (Diskannak) of OKU Regency, Hendri Aprizal, said that currently his party has received many reports from the public in all sub-districts regarding the outbreak of skinpox disease that affects cattle and buffalo. "Based on reports from farmers, there have been more than 100 cows and buffalo that have contracted the outbreak," he said in Baturaja, Antara, Thursday, April 6. He explained that the LSD outbreak was a DNA genetic material virus from the Cryptoxvirus genus and the Poxviridee family which generally attacked cattle and buffalo. LSD was first reported in Zambia, Africa, in 1929 and continues to spread across Africa, Europe, and Asia. In 2019 LSD was reported in China and India, then a year later spread across Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam. "In 2021 LSD has been reported in Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia. This year it was only discovered in Indonesia," he said. He explained that LSD is transmitted directly through contact with skin lesions, but this virus can also be transmitted through blood, melting of the nose and eyes, saliva, cement and milk in livestock. Transmission can also occur intra-uterine or through equipment and equipment contaminated with the LSD virus, such as cage clothes, cage utensils, and syringes. "Although this virus does not cause death, the transmission rate is very fast," he said. For the first treatment in treating animals infected with LSD, the OKU Regency Diskannak deployed officers to provide injections of immune vitamins for cows and buffalo who suffer from smallpox.

"For external treatment, we sprayed situric liquid. Farmers are also advised to routinely clean the cages to prevent the disease," he said.