The Department of Agriculture on Sunday said it has temporarily banned the importation of live cattle and buffaloes, along with their products and by-products from Libya, Russia, South Korea, and Thailand due to outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), a viral infection that could be deadly to cattle.

In Memorandum Order No. 06, series of 2024, signed on 1 February 2024 by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., he ordered the immediate suspension of processing, evaluation, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary clearances for the import of specific live cattle and buffalo, their products, and by-products, according to the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code Article 11.9.

However, safe commodities (skeletal muscle meat, gelatine and collagen, tallow, hooves, and horns) are still allowed to be imported from the said country as long as the country is accredited to import, following the import terms and conditions of the Philippines. This memorandum was issued to prevent the spread of LSD to the Philippines' local cattle population.

LSD is a cattle disease caused by a virus that is transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes and ticks, and causes fever, nodules on the skin and may even cause death, particularly those that have had no previous exposure. The virus can cause significant production losses but can be controlled either by culling or by vaccination.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the first reported outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) were reported in Southeast Asia in 2020, affecting Vietnam and Myanmar. The disease subsequently spread to Thailand and Laos in 2021. No cases have been reported in the Philippines and Indonesia so far, it added. The disease originated in Africa.

Secretary Tiu Laurel ordered for the confiscation, seizure and disposal of live cattle and buffaloes as well as products and by-products coming from Libya, Russia, South Korea and Thailand of shipments that didn't comply with the memorandum.

He also ordered the DA’s Veterinary Quarantine Office to undertake a more rigorous and tighter inspection of all arrivals of live cattle and buffaloes as well as products and by-products.