What is lumpy skin disease?
Lumpy skin disease is a highly infectious disease of cattle and water buffalo caused by a capripox virus. It does not occur in Australia and it does not affect humans.
Up to 50 per cent of infected animals may not show clinical signs of the disease while other animals can be severely affected.
What impact would lumpy skin disease have on Australia?
In 2021, the disease was confirmed in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. In March, 2022, it was officially reported by Indonesia on the island of Sumatra.
The detection of lumpy skin disease in the Asia-Pacific region brings increased risk of this disease reaching our shores.
If there was an incursion of this disease into the country, there would be far-reaching impacts, including major economic losses to livestock farmers and disruption restrictions to domestic and international markets. It is estimated an incursion would cost at least $8 billion in lost revenue during the first year alone.
ACDP's research on lumpy skin disease
At CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP), scientists are making sure Australia is prepared to respond and protect our cattle from lumpy skin disease if it were to arrive.
Working on a virus such as lumpy skin disease, which is not yet found in Australia, is made possible by working within the ACDP’s microbiologically secure laboratories, which are supported by state-of-the-art biocontainment engineering and safety protocols.
Since beginning research, the team has made significant contributions to disease preparedness and response capabilities and scientific knowledge of this disease.
ACDP has been supporting policy development, implementing gold standard diagnostics, building response capability and undertaking new and innovative research.
As part of ACDP’s core role in surveillance and exclusion of exotic diseases, the team has conducted multiple diagnostic tests on samples in support international recognition of Australia’s ongoing freedom from this disease.
State laboratories are a crucial part of the detection of disease in animals. ACDP has been working with the state labs to equip them with the tools to conduct ongoing surveillance for lumpy skin disease which is an essential aspect for early detection of a possible incursion.
It is also of benefit to Australia to be aware when there are occurrences of disease in our region. This knowledge can inform our own decisions on the risk of an incursion. ACDP has been working with neighbouring counties to help strengthen laboratory procedures and diagnostic capabilities, helping to ensure they are equipped to accurately and rapidly detect disease outbreaks.
As lumpy skin disease is a new threat to Australian livestock managers, ACDP is working with government agencies, providing technical expertise and advice, to assist with national preparations for and response to a potential lumpy skin disease incursion.
The team is also conducting ongoing research to develop new diagnostics providing greater accuracy around test results. In the longer term, they are looking to develop new vaccines. Of particular importance is the development of a vaccine which generates a different response in the animal from the animal’s natural response to infection. This feature is important to differentiate between animals vaccinated for the disease and those infected with the virus – this helps better manage outbreaks in which vaccination is used as a method of control.
The ACDP team has also been studying methods of incursion of the virus into Australia. Northern Australia is considered the most likely place for lumpy skin disease virus incursion, by long-distance wind dispersal of infected insects from neighbouring countries. A key factor in this study is to understand how long the virus can remain viable in the insect and able to infect a host on which it feeds. Results of these studies help Australia to improve surveillance methods and response policy.
The team will continue to investigate and undertake research on lumpy skin disease to ensure Australia is well prepared to manage a response if a disease detection does occur.
