New Epizootic of Lumpy Skin Disease in Assiut- Egypt: Molecular Identification and Characterization

| An outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) was recorded during the period of 2018 in the study area. Tissue samples from skin nodules were surgically collected from diseased animals (N=23) for molecular identification of the causative virus by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers designated from G protein coupled chemokine receptor (GPCR) gene. All the skin samples were found to be positive for lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) as they gave the expected amplicon size at 554 bp. Sequencing analysis of the obtained amplified segment disclosed that the present outbreak virus has a very high identity percentage >99-100% with virulent LSDV either that’s isolated from Egypt or different foreign countries, while the percent of identity were 95.62% with the vaccinal strains of LSDV. Multiple alignment and Phylogenetic analysis of the obtained sequence manifesting that members of capripoxviruses could be segregated in different groups and the present outbreak strain grouped within the LSDV virulent strains cluster.