DA bans live cattle, buffalo imports from Japan due to lumpy skin disease outbreak

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines won’t be importing live cattle, buffalo, and some byproducts from Japan in the meantime due to a lumpy skin disease outbreak, the Department of Agriculture said.

The DA announced the temporary ban on Thursday, December 19, through Memorandum Order 57 which was issued on Tuesday, December 17.

According to the memorandum, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) received a report from Japan’s food safety and regulatory agencies about a lumpy skin disease outbreak in Maebaru, Fukuoka, affecting domestic cattle on November 15.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. has prohibited the importation of live bovines and water buffaloes, including their semen and embryos. 

However, other byproducts such as pasteurized milk, skeletal muscle meat, gelatin, collagen, are still allowed, provided they meet additional safety criteria and documentation requirements.

“Certain products are exempted from the ban, provided they meet Philippine import and health standards,” the statement read. 

What is lumpy skin disease virus? The WOAH and European Food Safety Authority said that lumpy skin disease primarily affects cattle and is spread by blood-feeding insects like mosquitoes and ticks.

Symptoms in animals include a week-long fever, enlarged lymph nodes, reduced milk production, fluid accumulation under the skin, and lesions both externally and internally.

The disease can cause significant weight loss in cattle due to difficulty absorbing nutrients, and in severe cases, it may lead to death.

Humans cannot be infected by the lumpy skin disease virus.

“This precautionary measure is intended to safeguard the country’s livestock industry from potential risks posed by the spread of lumpy skin disease,” the statement read.