Evaluation of clinical efficacy of homologous Lumpy Skin Disease vaccine against challenge with Iran's circulating virus

Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease of cattle and buffaloes which causes skin nodules in susceptible animals. Implementation of mass vaccination is the most effective way for LSD control in endemic countries. LSD vaccine that was used in the current study is a domestically produced vaccine containing live attenuated Neethling strain. In this clinical trial, 11 male calves aged 6 to 9 months with an approximate weight of 150 to 250 kg and without antibodies against LSDV were used. The calves were divided into three groups: the first group consisted of two animals that were injected with ten times the vaccine dose, the second group comprised of four calves that were injected with one dose of vaccine and the third group consisted of five calves that received the vaccine diluent and assigned as control. On the 21st day after vaccination, the calves were challenged with a pathogenic strain of LSD virus through simultaneous intravenous and intradermal inoculation. All 11 calves were examined clinically daily for 14 days after the challenge and all clinical signs were recorded. None of the vaccinated animals (ten times the dose and one dose) showed any clinical signs of LSD including cutaneous nodules and fever within 14 days after challenge, while all the animals in the control group (non-vaccinated) showed clinical signs of LSD including cutaneous nodules. Therefore, the vaccine used in the present study was effective in protecting against wild LSD virus.