Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a pox viral disease of cattle with a major socio-economic impact. The disease is characterized by fever, multiple firm, circumscribed skin nodules, necrotic plaques in the mucous membranes (chiefly of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity), mastitis, orchitis and swelling of the peripheral lymph nodes. The disease is caused by a capripox virus of which the prototype strain, “Neethling'” was first isolated in South Africa. Clinically, the skin lesions of LSD closely resemble those of pseudo-lumpy skin disease caused by the Allerton strain of bovid herpesvirus 2 (BHV 2). 

Very little is known about the susceptibility of wild ruminants to LSDV.