Lumpy skin disease hits Eid Al Adha cattle sales in Pakistan

Farmers report heavy losses as worried shoppers opt to buy sheep or goats for sacrifice instead

A buyer inspects a cow at an Eid livestock market in Islamabad. Bloomberg

In the crowded livestock markets set up ahead of Pakistan's Eid Al Adha festivities, shoppers this week scrutinised cows more closely than normal, looking for the ugly tell-tale signs of a devastating infection.

An outbreak of the pox-like lumpy skin disease is sweeping the nation's herds, killing or emaciating cattle and threatening ruin to farmers.

Hundreds of cattle have been killed and thousands infected, as livestock owners race to vaccinate animals before the virus spreads further.

The disease cannot spread to humans, and doctors say the meat of infected animals can still be eaten if properly cooked, but its emergence has spread alarm among buyers and sellers.

Prices of animals with proof of vaccination have risen, but many worried shoppers have switched to buying goats or sheep to celebrate the feast of sacrifice. The prices of these smaller animals have also increased.

Muslims prepare for Eid Al Adha — in pictures

People aboard ferries wait for the departure as they travel back home ahead of Eid Al Adha in Dhaka. AFP

A Kashmiri Muslim girl decorates her hands with henna at a market in Srinagar. EPA

Palestinians prepare ma'moul and kahk in the West Bank city of Nablus. EPA

A Muslim cloth seller arranges his wares on a pedestrian pavement in Bengaluru, India. Getty Images

Shopper stock up at Abu Dhabi Fruit and Vegetable Market at Zayed Port, ahead of Eid Al Adha. Victor Besa / The National

A woman sells traditional plaited coconut leaf pouches for ketupat rice cakes, ahead of Eid Al Adha in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. EPA

A vendor offers sweets to shoppers at his stall at Al Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria. AFP

Camels in enclosures at the market in the Erhaiya desert area of Kuwait. AFP

People crowd on to a train to return home for Eid Al Adha, at a railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. AFP

A vendor sells garlands for sacrificial animals near a livestock market in Dhaka, Bangladesh. EPA

Eid Al Adha decorations illuminate the Corniche in central Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

A stallholder sells soft toys ahead of Eid Al Adha, at a market in the West Bank city of Hebron. EPA

Ornaments for sacrificial animals on sale at a roadside stall in Peshawar, Pakistan, before the Muslim festival of Eid Al Adha. EPA

Knifesmiths in Gaza City sharpen blades to be used to slaughter animals for Eid Al Adha. AFP

A boy plays with goats at a livestock market in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. AFP

A Palestinian stall-holder arranges sweets in the old city in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters

Goats being fed at a livestock market before Eid Al Adha in New Delhi, India. AP

A Palestinian girl selects a stuffed toy from a shop at a market in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

People queue to buy train tickets at a railway station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before the start of Eid Al Adha. AFP

A livestock vendor feeds a goat by the roadside while waiting for customers in New Delhi. AFP

Palestinians shop for toys before Eid Al Adha at a market in the West Bank city of Hebron. EPA

Pilgrims pray on Mount Al Noor, where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed received the first words of the Quran, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

A man tends to his goats before the start of Eid Al Adha in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. AFP

Muslim pilgrims relax in Makkah. Saudi Arabia hosted about one million people, including 850,000 from abroad, during this year's Hajj. AFP

A vendor waits for customers at a livestock market on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. AP

Pilgrims relax on Mount Al Noor in Makkah. Reuters

A child stands next to goats at a livestock market on the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Dana in Syria. AFP

An aerial view of the livestock market on the outskirts of Dana, Syria. AFP

Camels are transported in a lorry at a livestock market in Lahore. AFP

An ox reared on a fourth-storey rooftop in Karachi, Pakistan, is lowered by crane to be slaughtered during Eid Al Adha. AFP

Children play at a livestock market in Quetta, the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. AFP

A camel is led to market before Eid Al Adha in Lahore, Pakistan. AP

A Pakistani livestock merchant displays camels for sale in Lahore. AP

Customers lead away camels bought at a market in Lahore. AFP

Camels for sale in Lahore before the Eid Al Adha festival. AFP

A farmer takes cattle to market as preparations begin for Eid Al Adha in Quetta, Pakistan. EPA

A Pakistani ironsmith sharpens knives for Eid Al Adha in Lahore. AP

A goat at Al Quoz Abattoir in Dubai. Reuters

A sacrificial cow at a cattle market in Peshawar, Pakistan. Reuters

A sacrificial goat in Peshawar. Reuters

A farmer sells sheep for Eid Al Adha at a market near the town of Maaret Misrin in northern Syria. AFP

An aerial view of the livestock market in Maaret Misrin. AFP

A cow goes to market in Gaza. EPA

Sacrificial animals for sale before Eid Al Adha in Peshawar. EPA

A crowded market in Giza, Egypt, as Muslims buy sacrificial animals for Eid Al Adha. EPA

Thousands of people flock to the market in Giza to buy an animal. EPA

Potential buyers examine some of the animals for sale. EPA

A Yemeni buys a sacrificial sheep at a market in Sanaa. EPA

A goat at a market in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

Naqeebulah Khan, a resident of Peshawar in north-west Pakistan, said he was one of those who had opted to buy a goat this year, steering clear of cows.

“We bought two goats. A livestock expert accompanied us and he examined both of them. The prices are higher than normal, but we are sure they are healthy.”

Mr Khan said he had tried to stay away from livestock markets this years, which he claimed were “thick with lumpy skin disease-hit animals”.

What should be one of most profitable times of the year for cattle farmers has instead seen them left with unsold animals and facing heavy losses. Dairy farmers cannot sell their milk.

The virus is transmitted by blood-sucking insects or ticks and there have been worries it will spread more quickly among cattle herded together for Eid markets.

Cows infected with the disease develop the lesions that give it its name. They rapidly lose weight and milk productions plummets. Some die.

At least 97 animals died and 1,500 were infected on Wednesday alone in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said Alamzeb Khan, director general of the local livestock department. Vets have vaccinated about a quarter of a million cattle, but that is only a fraction of the nearly nine million in the province.

Muhammad Shakoor, a cattle dealer in Bannu district, told The National he had lost eight of his herd of 70, after buying them in Punjab province.

“The people aren’t even paying the amount on which we bought these animals. The people are extremely scared because the media is replete with the news regarding the outbreak of lumpy skin disease.”

Muhammad Sultan, a resident of Mathra locality near Peshawar, said the disease was costing him and his fellow animal traders a fortune.

“Buyers are examining every animal before purchasing them,” he said.

He said he had invested 10 million rupees ($48,200) on buying animals to sell at Eid.

Last year, we earned two million rupees but this time around we have lost that, or even more

Muhammad Sultan,
livestock trader

“But the people aren’t coming to the market as they used to in previous Eid. Last year, we earned two million rupees but this time around we have lost that, or even more.”

Lumpy skin disease has long been common in parts of Africa and the southern Middle East, but in 2012 it began to spread much more quickly, said Dr Pip Beard, an expert on the disease for the animal equivalent of the World Health Organisation.

The virus swept further afield into southern Europe, Russia, Turkey and Asia and is classed as a “rapidly emerging, transboundary pathogen”, she said.

“It causes very serious disease,” she said.

Buyers lead their goats through a livestock market in Islamabad, Pakistan. Bloomberg

It is unclear why the virus suddenly spread from its normal haunts in 2012, but she said researchers were investigating whether the turmoil of the 2011 Arab uprisings might have caused a breakdown in veterinary services.

Pakistan's recent flare-up has also spread to neighbouring Afghanistan.

“I keep 70 to 80 animals in a farm. Among them, 10 or 11 have died due to this disease,” said Nazar Muhammad, a farmer in Afghanistan's Khost province.

The lumpy skin disease cannot infect people and it is a stable, slowly-evolving virus which means it is highly unlikely to mutate into something that could jump into humans.

Nizam Ali, also of Bannu district, predicted the outbreak would have a significant effect on the celebration of Eid Al Adha this year.

“We used to sacrifice a cow on Eid every year and divide its meat in three parts. One for own consumption, one for close relatives and one distribution among the poor people as per Islamic formula. But this year, more people are opting to have small animals, which they would eat themselves. It will be hard to divide the meat of a goat in three and distribute among the people,” he said.