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Govt asks regions to allocate budget for FMD vaccines amid outbreak
Indonesia has been seeing an uptick in FMD cases since the end of last year. As of Jan. 13 around 17,000 livestock have been infected nationwide with hundreds of animal fatalities.
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Controlling the spread: An Agriculture Ministry delegation visits a cattle barn in an area where foot-and-mouth disease has broken out in Gresik regency, East Java, on May 10, 2022. (Agriculture Ministry /-)
T
he Agriculture Ministry has urged regional administrations to allocate some of their budget for livestock vaccinations, as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks continue to spread across the country.
FMD is a highly infectious viral disease that affects hoofed mammals, including cows, goats and sheep. Animals with the disease may experience fever followed by the development of vesicles (blisters), chiefly on the mouth and feet.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono said FMD vaccines procured by the government so far are insufficient to inoculate all at-risk animals in affected regions.
"We have prepared 4 million doses of vaccines this year, but it will not be enough to cover the national vaccination needs,” Sudaryono said on Tuesday as reported by Antaranews.
“So we urged regional administrations to set aside some of their budget to fund vaccination efforts in their respective regions," he added.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), there were roughly 59 million livestock in the country in 2022, including cows, buffalos, horses, goats, sheep and pigs.
At least 80 percent of livestock in a region must be vaccinated to prevent an FMD outbreak. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommends two doses of FMD vaccine given one month apart for each animal, followed by booster shots every four to six months.
