Epidemiology, Risk Analysis, Detection and Management of Lumpy Skin Disease in Europe

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 728

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Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH) Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium
Interests: infectious diseases; vector-borne diseases; zoonoses; epidemiology; risk analysis; biosecurity
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Dear Colleagues,

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral disease affecting cattle and water buffalo, characterized by skin nodules and other clinical signs. It is caused by a poxvirus and spread by biting insects, posing significant economic risks due to potential trade bans and animal welfare issues. The spread of lumpy skin disease (LSD) to countries over the last 10 years, particularly countries like Europe, Central and South-East Asia, has highlighted the threat of emergence in new areas or re-emergence in countries that achieved eradication. The objectives of this Special Issue are as follows: (i) summarizing the current challenges of LSD such as the expanding global range, the effect on economic development, the surveillance of the disease, the effective vaccines, the lack of awareness about control and prevention, the emergence of LSDV recombinants, etc.; (ii) explaining the nature, cause and importance of LSD; (iii) presenting vector, clinical and experimental studies, and LSD pathogenesis; (iv) understanding the epidemiology of LSD in European context; (v) analysing the route and the risk of introduction of LSD in a country; (vi) anticipating its early detection when LSD occurs; and (vii) managing the risk using appropriate and cost-effective preventive and control measures, including animal biosecurity and the development of vaccines to the LSD virus.

Review papers—including scoping reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as original papers on the matter that contribute to the objectives—are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Claude Saegerman
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • lumpy skin disease (LSD)
  • lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV)
  • vectors
  • pathogenesis
  • epidemiology
  • modelling
  • risk analysis
  • detection
  • management
  • cost–benefit analysis
  • Europe

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 3521 KB  
Article
Molecular and Phylogenetic Analyses of Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV) Outbreak (2021/22) in Pakistan Indicate Involvement of a Clade 1.2 LSDV Strain
by Saiba Ferdoos, Andy Haegeman, Sadia Sattar, Ibrar Ahmed, Sundus Javed, Aamira Tariq, Nick De Regge and Nazish Bostan
Viruses 2025, 17(12), 1546; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121546 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 445
Abstract
Livestock is the backbone of the economy in an agricultural country like Pakistan, with cattle serving as a milk and protein source. In 2021/22, Pakistan was hit by the first major outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle, in all four provinces. [...] Read more.
Livestock is the backbone of the economy in an agricultural country like Pakistan, with cattle serving as a milk and protein source. In 2021/22, Pakistan was hit by the first major outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle, in all four provinces. LSD is characterized by the development of skin nodules, leading to severe illness, decreased milk production, and mortality, causing huge economic losses. This study aimed to analyze and classify the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) strains involved in the outbreak in the Punjab province at the molecular and phylogenetic levels to develop effective control strategies. A combination of different real-time PCRs was used for the identification and differentiation between vaccine, wild-type, and recombinant LSDV strains. This was mented with the sequence determination and phylogenetic analysis of ten genomic loci from two selected isolates from the 2021/22 Pakistan outbreak. The combined data showed that these isolates belonged to LSDV clade 1.2 and were clearly different from the vaccine clade 1.1 (Neethling-like), as well as from the recombinant clade 2 strains. In addition, using a fit-for-purpose gel-based PCR, the isolates from the outbreak were also shown to be different from KSGP0240-based vaccines. Full article
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