Manila, Feb 12 (IANS): The Philippines has issued a temporary ban on the importation of animal products from Germany amid a recent outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the European country, local media reported on Wednesday.

Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a memorandum issued on Monday that the import ban is part of the government's emergency measure to prevent the dangerous communicable animal disease from infecting local animals.

"The order shall take effect immediately and shall remain enforced unless revoked in writing," the memo read.

However, certain products are exempt from the ban, such as ultra-high temperature milk and derivatives, heat-treated meat products in hermetically sealed containers, protein meal and gelatin, and in vivo-derived bovine embryos, Xinhua news agency reported.

Germany notified the World Organization for Animal Health of confirmed FMD cases in domestic buffaloes in January.

Official data showed that the Philippines in 2024 imported 3,177.5 metric tonnes of beef from Germany, accounting for around 0.5 per cent of the country's total beef imports.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease or foot-and-mouth disease is a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children. Symptoms include sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is most commonly caused by a coxsackievirus.

There's no specific treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Frequent hand-washing and avoiding close contact with people who have hand-foot-and-mouth disease may help lower your child's risk of infection.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease may cause all of the following symptoms or only some of them. They include:

Fever, Sore throat, Feeling sick, Painful, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks and loss of appetite.

The usual period from initial infection to the time symptoms appear (incubation period) is 3 to 6 days. Children may get a fever and develop a sore throat. They sometimes lose their appetites and don't feel well.

One or two days after the fever begins, painful sores may develop in the front of the mouth or throat. A rash on the hands and feet and sometimes on the buttocks may also appear.

Sores that develop in the back of the mouth and throat may suggest a related viral illness called herpangina. Other features of herpangina include a sudden high fever and, in some instances, seizure. In rare cases, sores develop on the hands, feet or other parts of the body.