On February 10, the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released “Announcement No. 521 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China,” stating that lumpy skin disease in cattle has been reclassified from a Category I animal infectious disease to a Category II animal infectious disease.

The announcement stated that, in accordance with laws and regulations including the "Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," the "Animal Disease Prevention Law of the People's Republic of China," and the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Inspection and Quarantine of Animals and Plants Entering and Leaving the Country," the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Administration of Customs, based on risk assessments, have reclassified bovine nodular dermatitis from a Class I animal infectious disease to a Class II animal infectious disease in the "List of Animal Infectious Diseases Subject to Entry-Exit Quarantine of the People's Republic of China" (Joint Announcement No. 256 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Administration of Customs), originally issued on July 3, 2020.

Control measures for animal infectious diseases vary depending on the level of the disease. Articles 38 and 39 of the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law of the People's Republic of China stipulate:

Article 38: When a Class I animal epidemic occurs, the following control measures shall be implemented:

(1) The agricultural and rural affairs authorities of the local people's government at or above the county level shall immediately dispatch personnel to the site to delineate the epidemic focus, the epidemic area, and the threatened area; investigate the source of the outbreak; and promptly request their respective people's governments to impose a lockdown on the epidemic area. If the scope of the epidemic area involves two or more administrative regions, the higher-level people's government jointly responsible for these administrative regions shall impose the lockdown, or the higher-level people's governments of each relevant administrative region shall jointly impose the lockdown. When necessary, the higher-level people's government may instruct the lower-level people's government to impose a lockdown on the epidemic area.

(2) Local people's governments at or above the county level shall immediately organize relevant departments and units to implement mandatory measures such as sealing off, quarantine, culling, destruction, disinfection, harmless treatment, and emergency vaccination.
(3) During the lockdown period, animals that are infected, suspected of being infected, or susceptible to infection, as well as animal products, are prohibited from leaving the epidemic area. Animals from non-epidemic areas that are susceptible to infection are also prohibited from entering the epidemic area. Additionally, as needed, disinfection and other restrictive measures shall be implemented on personnel entering or leaving the epidemic area, on means of transportation, and on related articles.

Article 39: When a Category II animal epidemic occurs, the following control measures shall be implemented:

(1) The agricultural and rural affairs authorities of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall delineate epidemic points, epidemic areas, and threatened areas.
(2) Local people's governments at or above the county level shall, as needed, organize relevant departments and units to take measures such as isolation, culling, destruction, disinfection, harmless treatment, emergency vaccination, and restrictions on the entry and exit of susceptible animals, animal products, and related items.

Lumpy skin disease in cattle is preventable and controllable, and precise localization will further enhance the control and prevention of this outbreak.

The disease can be initially diagnosed based on specific clinical symptoms and pathological changes; confirmation requires further laboratory pathogen and serological testing.

Common laboratory diagnostic methods include: pathogen-based methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and recombinase polymerase amplification; and serological methods such as virus neutralization assays, Western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Our company’s products can efficiently and rapidly diagnose this disease, helping to detect outbreaks promptly, implement effective prevention and control measures, and reduce economic losses caused by the disease.