Preventive Measures Needed to Curb Surging FMD Cases

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Winarto sprays medicinal liquid into the mouth of a cow infected with mouth and foot disease in Sembung Village, Wringinanom District, Gresik Regency, East Java, Wednesday (11/5/2022).

The government has been asked to seriously prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease (HMF), which has been detected in a number of regions in the country.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is spreading into a number of main livestock centers in the country following the discovery of the infectious animal disease in North Sumatra, Central Java, Lampung and Central Kalimantan. Without serious and comprehensive handling, farmers will suffer as the livestock supply chain will be disrupted.

In North Sumatra, the contagious animal disease, which is also called hoof and mouth disease (HMF), has infected 598 cattle in two main cattle hubs, namely Langkat and Deli Serdang.

"Samples taken from Langkat and Deli Serdang tested positive for foot and mouth disease," the director of animal health at the Agriculture Ministry, Nuryani Zainuddin, said in Medan on Friday (13/5/2022).

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In Central Java, as many as 37 cows and goats also tested positive for FMD. They included 16 cows from Boyolali, 14 cows from Banjarnegara, four cows from Rembang and three goats from Wonosobo.

“Cattle that tested positive have been isolated. Their health condition continues to improve,” the head of the Central Java Animal Husbandry and Health Office, Agus Wariyanto, said.

In East Kotawaringin, 26 samples have been sent to the local laboratory for confirmation.

FMD cases have also been detected in two cattle breeding centers in Central Kalimantan. The head of the Central Kalimantan Food Crops, Horticulture and Livestock Office, Riza Rahmadi, said 22 samples had tested positive for FMD in West Kotawaringin. In East Kotawaringin, 26 samples have been sent to the local laboratory for confirmation.

In Lampung, FMD infected a number of cows in Mulya Jaya village, Gunung Agung district, West Tulang Bawang regency. According to the head of the West Tulang Bawang Livestock Office, Nazaruddin, six samples had been taken from 23 sick cows.

"They tested positive for FMD," he said.

Nazaruddin said his office was still investigating the origin of the PMK transmission. Based on local farmers’ information, the cows in the village were not purchased from other regions. Buying and selling activities were carried out among farmers within Tulang Bawang and Mesuji regencies.

Supply disruption

Muhammad Nasir, 60, a cattle farmer from Deli Serdang regency, said he was very worried about the finding of FMD cases in the regency, as nine of his cattle had been infected. He asked the government to inform the steps that must be taken if symptoms of FMD were found in livestock.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Winarto sprays liquid on the hoofs of cows infected with mouth and foot disease in Sembung Village, Wringinanom District, Gresik Regency, East Java, Wednesday (11/5/2022).

The government’s measures to restrict livestock traffic in order to prevent the spread of the disease have begun to disrupt the livestock supply chain. Hundreds of cows from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) had been detained on a boat that docked at Tanjung Perak Port, Surabaya, East Java, for several days. The animals could not be disembarked following the finding of FMD cases in East Java.

The chairman of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Adik Dwi Putranto, said 736 cows were currently being held at Tanjung Perak Port. The cows were to be distributed to Jakarta and East Java. The head of the Surabaya Agricultural Quarantine Center, Cicik Sri Sukarsih, said hundreds of cattle originating from NTT were not allowed to be unloaded in Surabaya due to traffic restrictions and strict quarantine requirements for ruminants (cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep), as well as pigs and their products imposed by the Agriculture Ministry on 6 May 2022.

Four regencies in East Java, namely Gresik, Sidoarjo, Lamongan and Mojokerto, have been declared epidemic areas.

The lockdown was imposed to prevent FMD, which has become endemic in East Java. Four regencies in East Java, namely Gresik, Sidoarjo, Lamongan and Mojokerto, have been declared epidemic areas.

According to Cicik, the cows cannot be disembarked but they can be sent back to their area of origin or to another port outside East Java.

Sacrificial animals

The government said the stock of livestock to be used for this year’s Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) remained safe despite the FMD outbreak, as the mortality rate was still low at about 2 percent, and also despite the tightening of restrictions on the movement of livestock in the country.

The head of the Public Relations and Public Information Department of the Agriculture Ministry, Kuntoro Boga Andri, said Friday (13/5) that the stock of ruminants for Idul Adha was sufficient. During Idul Adha, last year, the number of animals slaughtered totaled about 1.7 million or about 3 percent of the total population.

In addition, said Boga, the mortality rate of the livestock due to FMD was relatively small at about 2 percent. He also asked the public not to worry about the transmission of PMK to humans.

“FMD is not a disease that is contagious or dangerous to humans. The meat of the animal tested positive for FMD can be consumed as long as it is cooked properly,” he said.

The Agriculture Ministry is campaigning for the prevention of FMD transmission through slaughterhouses in regions with FMD cases or areas that are still free from the disease.

"We are coordinating with the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Indonesian Ulema Council, religious organizations and local governments to ensure any sacrificial worship runs smoothly," he said.

HUMAS KEMENTERIAN PERTANIAN

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo looks at cattle in Aceh Tamiang District, Aceh, Thursday (12/5/2022). Aceh Tamiang was designated as an epidemic area of mouth and foot disease with 2,555 infected cattle.

Previously, the Agriculture Ministry’s livestock and animal health director, Nasrullah, said he would introduce standard operating procedures for the movement of animals from one to another to prevent the spread of FMD. Thus, all animals to be sacrificed during Idul Adha, which will take place in two months, are healthy and safe. (DIT/NCA/NIK/BRO/XTI/ NSA/VIO/IDO)

(The article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).