Sukoharjo, C Java Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo led the livestock vaccination drive against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Sukoharjo District, Central Java, on Saturday.
During the drive, vaccines were administered to 28 cows belonging to farmer groups in Mertan Village, Bendosari Sub-district.
For the initial stage, at least 800 thousand doses of the FMD vaccine have been prepared for inoculating livestock nationwide, Limpo said.
The government has provided three million doses of the vaccine to control FMD outbreaks, he added.
The vaccinations will not only target areas with red status but also with yellow and green status, Limpo said. His ministry is collaborating with universities for the FMD vaccination intervention.
According to the minister, FMD cases in livestock have been detected in 180 districts/cities throughout Indonesia. There are some villages that have been designated as red zones, he pointed out.
“In the red zones, live animals are not allowed to exit (the area). This has been monitored by the district-level task force,” he informed.
Before the vaccines were administered, Limpo led the FMD Alert morning routine in the courtyard of the Sukoharjo district head’s office. During the routine, he urged all parties to jointly help livestock farmers by accelerating efforts to deal with FMD.
“The control of FMD must be carried out seriously as much as possible so that the outbreak is eliminated and even gone in Indonesia,” he said.
Source: Antara News