Cambodia can bring an outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) infecting the nation’s cattle under control and prevent it from spreading further, according to the Animal Health and Production General Directorate.
Tan Phannara, head of the general directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said on June 7 that the authorities had already taken measures at the border to prevent and ban cattle and buffalos from being imported without permission.
He added that the relevant authorities also regularly inspected cattle and buffaloes across the country and they were required to enforce safety and sanitation measures in all livestock-raising facilities, assembly facilities and markets.
“We brought the disease under control. It has yet to spread throughout the country. A vaccine against the disease has yet to be imported because we are still considering it. We don’t want to rush to import that vaccine,” he said.
In the meantime, he urged relevant authorities and the public to continue to maintain precautions against the disease because if cases were to explode in the country it would cause serious losses to the national economy.
Phannara said LSD symptoms were small or big lumps on the skin, torsos, back of the neck, noses, mouths, genitals and udders along with a fever of up to 41 degrees Celsius.
The lumps can become scabrous and turn into ulcers and can also cause male animals to become impotent and pregnant animals to suffer miscarriages.
The virus transmits from one animal to another by direct touch or other transmissible agents, according to the agriculture ministry.
Last month the disease broke out across 17 provinces in Thailand, four of which border Cambodia, it said.
LSD is an infectious disease in cattle caused by a capripox virus. In 2012 it spread from Africa and the Middle East to southeast Europe. In 2019 it spread to central Asia, south Asia, Vietnam and China.
It has severely impacted livestock producers in other nations and poses a risk to Cambodia’s national economy, according to the ministry report.
