Foot-and-Mouth Disease Found in 15 Provinces: Agriculture Minister

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed that foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases have spread to 15 provinces across Indonesia, and the disease has impacted more than three million livestock.

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo said 3,910,310 cattle in the 15 provinces are impacted during the outbreak, based on a last week’s report.

“Report as of May 17, 2022, showed FMD has been detected in 15 provinces and 52 regencies/municipalities. Those provinces have a total of 13.8 million livestock, and 3.9 million of them have been impacted,” Limpo said on Monday, May 23, as reported by Antara.

The provinces are Aceh (47,802 livestock), North Sumatra (346,179), West Sumatra (151,660), Bangka Belitung (10,347), Lampung (24,175), South Sumatra (1,281), Banten (678), Yogyakarta (55,490), West Java (165,319), Central Java (689,319), and East Java (1,941,131).

In the central and eastern parts of Indonesia, FMD cases have also reported in West Kalimantan (14,186 livestock), South Kalimantan (71,831), Central Kalimantan (26,993), and West Nusa Tenggara (363,770).

The Ministry also revealed that from the impacted cattle, 13,965 (0.36 percent) tested positive for FMD based on lab result.

As much as 2,630 cattle have recovered while 99 died of the viral disease.

The foot-and-mouth disease attacks livestock with cloven hoof, such as such as cows, buffalos, goats, sheep, and pigs. It’s transmitted through direct contact and is airborne.

The economic impact of an outbreak is huge as the disease reduces productivity and causes death as well as disrupting livestock trade as transport is limited.

“Despite this, FMD-infected cattle will not transmit the disease to humans, and the meat can still be consumed if slaughtered properly at slaughterhouses. Infected organ must be destroyed in accordance to existing animal health protocols,” Limpo said.