The number of animals dying from lumpy skin disease that has affected all of the country’s 77 districts has crossed the 50,000 mark.

According to the Department of Livestock Services, 50,826 cattle and buffaloes have died while 1,088,000 have been infected by the highly contagious disease as of Friday since its outbreak in April.

According to the data, as many as 25,610 dairy animals have died in Sudurpaschim Province alone, which is the highest for any province of Nepal. Karnali Province has recorded 8,703 deaths, followed by Koshi at 5,042.

Around 4,000 dairy animals have died in Lumbini Province; 3,476 in Bagmati; 2,295 in Gandaki and 1,700 in Madhesh Province.

The department said 350,000 cattle and buffaloes have been vaccinated against the disease so far.

Lumpy skin, an infectious disease that primarily affects cattle, is caused by a virus that mainly spreads through blood-sucking vectors—ticks, mites, and mosquitoes.

Veterinarians say the infected cattle have an acute fever, discharge from the eyes and nose, salivation, and soft blister-like nodules all over their bodies.

As the virus is not zoonotic, the chances of humans getting infected are slim, say experts.