Ten Years of Lumpy Skin Disease in the Russian Federation: Experience of Heterologous Immunization with SheepPox Virus–Based Vaccines in the Saratov Region

Lumpy skin disease is a major emerging, highly contagious, transboundary animal disease that could be controlled in endemic territories through immunization of cattle with either homologous or heterologous vaccines. The aim of this study was a retrospective analysis of the results of a vaccination campaign based on bovine immunization with SheepPox virus–based vaccines in the Saratov Region as a model region with climatic characteristics favorable for the spread of the virus and where dairy and beef cattle farming is actively developing. This region was historically lumpy skin disease–free until 2017, when multiple outbreaks of the disease were firstly notified just 2 years after the first introduction of the lumpy skin disease virus into the Russian Federation in 2015. For this purpose, the number of notified lumpy skin disease outbreaks was compared over a 10-year period (2015–2025) before and after the start of a vaccination campaign with commercially available SheepPox virus–based vaccines, the derivatives of the SheepPox virus strain NISKHI. Within 3 years after the start of annual immunization of 100% of cattle aged 6 months and older, no lumpy skin disease outbreaks were notified in the Saratov Region, although outbreaks continued to be registered for several more years in other Russian regions with similar climate conditions and high concentrations of beef and dairy cattle, where regular vaccination was absent. However, regular annual vaccination of livestock resulted in a prompt decrease in lumpy skin disease outbreaks to either sporadic occurrences or their complete nullification in all affected Russian regions in 2025. No vaccine-related complications or deaths were officially registered in cattle after immunization with the SheepPox virus–based vaccines used. In conclusion, the experience of the vaccination campaign against lumpy skin disease with live SheepPox virus–based vaccines in the Saratov Region demonstrated their safety and high applicability for lumpy skin disease control and animal welfare. Cite this article as: Kichemazova, N., Larionova, O., & Feodorova, V. (2026). Ten years of lumpy skin disease in the Russian Federation: Experience of heterologous immunization with SheepPox virus–based vaccines in the Saratov region. Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, 52, 0294, doi: 10.5152/actavet.2026.25294.