Bovine dermatitis: 51 more outbreaks on the island. Nearly 700 animals have been culled.

In Sardinia there are still 51 outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease, the dermatitis that affects cattle.

This is what we read in the data from the bulletin of the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Teramo , which underlines how almost all the outbreaks are currently located in the province of Nuoro and that two of them, in Sarule and Orani, were declared extinct , on 30 July and 8 August respectively.

Overall, the Institute reports, there are 339 sick animals to date, 103 dead and 662 culled.

Regarding vaccinations, " the vaccine is the only weapon to prevent the lumpy skin disease virus from reaching your farms," is the appeal of Dr. Enrico Vacca, director of the Animal Health service of the ASL 5 of Oristano , to cattle farmers throughout the Oristano area following the first case of dermatitis in the province, recorded on a livestock farm in Cuglieri.

The Animal Health Service of the Local Health Authority (ASL 5) is working at full capacity to continue the vaccination campaign. " We have already inoculated," Vacca added, "33,000 cattle on 450 farms. We have already achieved 50 percent coverage of the animals and just under 50 percent in terms of the number of farms."

Again: "There's no need to be afraid of the vaccine," Vacca reiterated. "Beyond movement control and the use of antiparasitics, vaccination is the real weapon against the spread of the lumpy skin virus. We need to vaccinate as many animals as possible as soon as possible, ideally by August. " "Vaccines," Vacca concluded, "help build immunity, preventing the virus from entering and spreading within your herds. The side effects of this vaccine are completely normal."

(Unioneonline)