"The vaccine is the only weapon to prevent the lumpy skin disease virus from reaching your farms ." This is the renewed appeal from 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 lumpy skin disease in the province of Oristano, recorded on a livestock farm in Cuglieri .
Meanwhile , half of the cattle in the area under the jurisdiction of ASL 5 have already been vaccinated .
"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 added, "help build immunity, preventing the virus from entering and spreading within your herds. The side effects of this vaccine are completely normal."

THE CAMPAIGN – The Animal Health Service of the Local Health Authority (ASL 5) is working at full speed to continue the vaccination campaign. " We have already inoculated 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."
Biosecurity on farms is also important. As Dr. Giuseppe Sedda, director of the veterinary service for Livestock Hygiene and Livestock Production at Local Health Authority (ASL 5), emphasized: "Thorough cleaning of the areas is essential: all areas where cattle are kept, including stables, manure heaps, and dunghills, where insects thrive, must be disinfected. Furthermore, vehicles transporting animals, feed, milk, or any other means of transport entering or leaving the farms must also be disinfected, as insects could also nest there, as must work tools and clothing. Finally, visitor access must be minimized. The control of disease-carrying insects must be achieved through the use of both larvicidal insecticides, which target larvae, and adulticides, which kill adult specimens."