Abstract:
Lumpy skin disease, sheeppox and goatpox are high-impact diseases of domestic
ruminants with a devastating effect on cattle, sheep and goat farming industries in
endemic regions. In this article, we review the current geographical distribution,
economic impact of an outbreak, epidemiology, transmission and immunity of
capripoxvirus. The special focus of the article is to scrutinize the use of currently
available vaccines to investigate the resource needs and challenges that will have
to be overcome to improve disease control and eradication, and progress on the
development of safer and more effective vaccines. In addition, field evaluation of
the efficacy of the vaccines and the genomic database available for poxviruses are
discussed.
