The government of Tangerang District, Banten Province, has formed a task force for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which has affected thousands of livestock in several regions in Indonesia.
“When this indicated FMD enters the Tangerang district area, the first step that we will carry out is surveillance or investigation by the task force of animal disease control,” Head of Agriculture and Food Security Asep Jatnika said here on Friday.
The team was formed under the instruction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Tangerang District Head Ahmed Zaki Iskandar as part of anticipatory measures against the spread of FMD in the district, he informed.
According to Jatnika, the task force will carry out regular supervision and monitoring through the laboratory, and if it finds livestock with FMD symptoms, distribution will be halted, and the livestock will be returned.
He informed that the task force comprises veterinarians, instructors from the Agriculture Ministry, and officers from the National Police (Polri), the Indonesian Military (TNI), and the Transportation Office.
He explained that the disease is caused by the Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV), which is transmissible among livestock such as buffaloes, cows, sheep, goats, and pigs, with the transmission rate reaching 90 to 100 percent.
The virus is not transmissible to humans but can cause fatality in animals, he further said.
He affirmed that so far, the disease has not been detected in Tangerang district. Nevertheless, he urged farmers to remain alert and report if they find symptoms of FMD in their livestock.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture formulated a strategy to eradicate the disease that is affecting livestock and thwart its spread.
Agriculture Minister Sayhrul Yasin Limpo remarked that efforts to eradicate the disease were being made by assigning a team to check the condition on the field.
The minister also highlighted that the disease is not transmissible to humans despite it spreading rapidly among animals. To this end, apart from preparing a strategy to curb transmission, he also called on people to not harbor concerns and to not overly panic due to the disease.
Source: Antara News