As of Monday (August 1, 2022), 22 out of 34 Indonesian provinces have detected FMD infections, which indicates that, in the past three weeks, the transmission of the virus has been relatively stable, particularly in the red zone areas that have a high rate of infections, he informed in a written statement received here on Thursday.
"This means that in the past three weeks, Indonesia has succeeded in controlling the transmission of the FMD virus by preventing it from spreading to other provinces, as shown by the relatively stable (transmission) in the chart of red zones," he said.
However, he urged everyone to remain alert to the risk of a spike in cases. This is because additional cases have currently been reported in 279 districts and sub-districts.
Thus, there is a need for consistent surveillance and the implementation of biosecurity measures in a sustainable manner.
He informed that positive cases of FMD have either been confirmed in livestock exhibiting clinical symptoms of the disease or through RT-PCR tests. Meanwhile, some livestock have clinically recovered, meaning they have shown signs of recovery.
However, animals that have recovered can still carry the virus in the oropharynx for more than 28 days, he cautioned.
"Speaking of cattle that recover (becoming) carriers, cows, for example, (they) can carry the virus up to a maximum of six months and three years," Adisasmito pointed out.
Currently, there are four provinces that have yet to report new cases of FMD, namely, Bali, Riau Islands, Jakarta, and South Kalimantan.
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Bali had 556 confirmed cases of FMD. Of these, 553 cows were examined and slaughtered after they were confirmed to have FMD, and 3 other livestock were reported dead, that is, their vital body functions ceased soon after they were confirmed to have been infected.
In Riau Islands,. 415 beef and dairy cattle were infected with FMD of which 389 clinically recovered, 25 were tested and slaughtered and 1 dead.
If provinces report no additional cases for a certain period of time, it would mean that they have zero cases.
Meanwhile, Jakarta and South Kalimantan have recorded 1,040 and 531 cases respectively. There were 991 clinically recovered cattle in Jakarta and 505 in South Kalimantan. The rest were either examined and slaughtered or died of he disease.
The government is continuing efforts to stem the transmission of the disease, especially in the province with the largest number of confirmed cases, namely East Java.
The province has reported the highest number of infected cattle at 172,306, followed by West Nusa Tenggara (90,015), West Java (48,907), Aceh (42,584), and Central Java (36,595).
To suppress transmission, the government is encouraging vaccinations of healthy livestock. More than 300 thousand doses of the FMD vaccine have been administered to at-risk livestock between June 26 and July 10, 2022. So far, about 840,687 heads of livestock have been vaccinated in areas with infections.
"This shows that vaccination has the ability to control the number of FMD cases," he noted.
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The government has so far procured three million doses of FMD vaccine and initiated their two phase distribution. In the first stage, 800 thousand doses have been distributed, with most of the livestock in the infected areas vaccinated against FMD.
Under the second phase, 2.2 million doses are currently being allocated, and some of them have been administered to animals at risk, such as those in East Java province.
While private companies have been involved in procuring vaccines for the program, all stages of the procurement have been handled by the Agriculture Ministry. Additionally, the government has sought to ensure that vaccination activities run smoothly and all processes are carried out in a clear and accountable manner.
"Finally, we continue to make efforts so that this disease does not spread to other provinces. We strongly encourage the FMD task force to follow up on cases in their respective regions and to maintain biosecurity measures as well," Adisasmito added.
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Translator: Devi N S R, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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