Goatpox virus (G20-LKV) vaccine strain elicits a protective response in cattle against lumpy skin disease at challenge with lumpy skin disease virulent field strain in a comparative study

•Sheeppox (SPP) and goatpox (GTP) vaccine strains were studied safety and protective in cattle against lumpy skin disease (LSD).•SPP and GTP vaccines safety trial confirmed suitable for use in cattle.•GTP virus G20-LKV vaccine strain elicits a strong protective response in cattle against LSD than SPP Niskhi vaccine strain at the challenge study. In this comparative study, we examine the safety of the sheeppox (SPP) and goatpox (GTP) vaccines and the protective response of these vaccines in cattle against a virulent lumpy skin disease (LSD) field strain. The vaccine safety was tested in rabbits, mice and cattle using ten times recommended dose. In the safety trial, none of the vaccinated animals showed any deviation from physiological norms or fever, inappetence or local/ generalized skin reactions. In the challenge trial, both SPP and GTP vaccine groups developed virus-neutralizing antibodies with an average titre of 2.1 log2 at 21 days post-vaccination. No significant difference in seroconversion was found in cattle vaccinated with SPP and GTP vaccines (P ≥ 0.05). When challenged with a virulent LSD field strain, one animal vaccinated with the SPP Niskhi vaccine strain showed typical LSD skin lesions at the injection sites of different dilutions of the challenge virus. All animals vaccinated with GTP G20-LKV vaccine strain showed full protection. After infection with the challenge virus, unvaccinated fully susceptible control cattle showed characteristic clinical signs of LSD. The average protective index for SPP and GTP vaccine groups was 5.3 ± 1.42 and 5.9 ± 0.00, respectively.