"This vaccination is aimed at healthy animals. Thus, the vaccination targets are animals that have high economic value, in this case, to secure assets," director of animal health at the ministry, Ira Firgorita, said, according to a statement released here on Saturday.
The nationwide vaccination will prioritize breeding cows and dairy cows, she informed. The vaccination will also be prioritized for healthy farm animals in FMD-affected zones.
A mechanism will be implemented for the vaccination: healthy animals located within a radius of two kilometers from infected animals in FMD-affected areas will be inoculated, Firgorita said.
Related news: E Java hopes acceleration on FMD vaccine distribution
Meanwhile, animals that have recovered from FMD would not be vaccinated because they already would have naturally-formed immunity against the virus. They will receive the vaccine six months after recovery.
She informed that the targeted farm animals would receive three injections under the nationwide vaccination program. The second vaccination will be given four weeks after the first vaccination, and the third vaccination will be given six months after the second vaccination.
In the future, the FMD vaccine will be given annually to make Indonesia free of FMD again.
Earlier, on Tuesday (June 14, 2022), the government commenced the nationwide FMD vaccination for livestock from Sidoarjo District, East Java.
The Ministry of Agriculture has forecast that around 17 million livestock will receive the vaccine, or about 80 percent of the livestock population in provinces affected by the disease. The livestock will be inoculated thrice: twice in 2022 and once in 2023.
Related news: Ministry conducts training of trainers for livestock mass vaccination
Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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