No lump in the throat! Bharat Biotech group co Biovet’s lumpy skin disease vaccine gets regulator’s licence

Biovet, a Bharat Biotech group company, has received a licence from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for its lumpy skin disease (LSD) vaccine for dairy cattle.

The firm has claimed that it is the first such vaccine in the world for the highly infectious viral disease that affects cattle. Its symptoms include fever, swelling of the skin, and enlarged lymph nodes.

Developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the vaccine named Biolumpivaxin is set to be soon launched commercially, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The quality, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine have been extensively tested at ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE), Hisar and at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), ensuring it meets the highest global standards, it added.

Dr. Krishna Ella, founder of Biovet, said “This DIVA (differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals) marker vaccine is a game-changer for veterinary medicine for disease surveillance and eradication programs. Epidemiologists and field workers can now distinguish if an animal received the vaccine or was previously infected with LSD.”

‘The CDSCO licensure for this vaccine is a significant step toward India’s self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in veterinary healthcare, which avoids dependency on imported vaccines. As India moves towards a disease-free livestock population, this path-breaking vaccine will play a crucial role in ensuring the dairy industry’s sustainability, ” Dr. Ella added.

According to estimates, over the past two years, approximately 200,000 cattle have died, and millions more have lost their milk production capabilities due to the lumpy skin disease nationwide.

LSD is a trans-boundary animal disease that has gained significant attention in India due to its severe impact on cattle health and the dairy industry.

The disease is characterized by the development of skin nodules across the body, fever, swollen lymph nodes, decreased milk yield and difficulty in movement. LSD virus transmission is largely attributed to vector bites, with mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects playing an essential role.

During the 2022 LSD outbreak in in India, morbidity rates reached up to 80% with case fatality rates as high as 67% across states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir.

This caused an estimated economic loss of over ₹18,337.76 crore and a 26% decline in milk production, significantly harming the dairy industry and the rural economy, the company said, citing ICAR data.

In India, LSD has emerged as a major threat to dairy productivity, impacting millions of small-scale, marginal farmers.

History

LSD was first reported in Zambia, Africa, in 1929. For several decades, the disease remained confined to Africa before spreading transcontinental to Egypt in 1988 and Israel in 1989.

Over the years, the LSD virus has expanded its geographic range across the Middle East, Europe, and most recently, numerous Asian countries, including India. The first confirmed outbreak in India occurred in 2019, and since then, LSD virus has rapidly spread across multiple states, leading to substantial economic losses and a decline in milk production.

Vaccination has proven to be the most effective strategy for controlling LSD virus, in particular with homologous vaccines. Following vaccination of cattle and buffaloes, the vaccine instructs the immune system to mount a defence mechanism against LSD virus infection in cattle and buffaloes as a prophylactic measure.

It may take 3 to 4 weeks to mount the desired immunity in the vaccinated animals. Hence, advance vaccination needs to be done as a preventive measure in order to protect dairy cattle and buffaloes of all age groups from LSD virus infection.