KOTA BARU, June 5 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (Mafi) through the Department of Veterinary Services (JPV) has tightened conditions for the import of live cattle to prevent the spread of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) which has now spread across several Asian countries.
Its Deputy Minister 11 Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said in view of this, the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) has been asked to tighten controls at the country’s entry points and take immediate action whenever imported cattle show symptoms of LSD.
He also requested the cooperation of industry players including importers, middlemen and cattle breeders to immediately contact the nearest JPV office if they suspect cattle in their care or stables showed symptoms.
He said sampling would be carried out for the purpose of confirming the disease and infected cattle would have to be segregated and disposed of at licensed private abattoirs.
“JPV has also activated a monitoring program to detect, control and prevent the spread of LSD throughout the country,” he said.
“So far, 81,252 heads of cattle in 9,108 premises or farms have been inspected, out of which 89 or 0.1 per cent showed symptoms of LSD infection and they have been disposed of,” he said.
In a related development, Che Abdullah also said that a piece of viral news making the rounds in Perak urging people not to buy fresh beef due to LSD concerns was inaccurate.
He said LSD does not infect humans, saying that an image of a so-called infected individual in Perak with LSD symptoms under the eyes was fake. — Bernama
