Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA) - The East Java Government has temporarily closed cattle markets in four districts -- Mojokerto, Sidoarjo, Gresik, and Lamongan -- following the detection of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the livestock population.
The decision to close the cattle markets was taken during a meeting in which they chalked out measures to prevent the disease from spreading, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa stated at the Grahadi State Building, here on Saturday.
Foot and mouth disease is an acute animal disease that afflicts livestock, such as cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep, horses, and pigs. It has a transmission rate of 90-100 percent.
According to data from the provincial government through the Directorate General of Livestock Health at the Agriculture Ministry, clinical signs of the disease in livestock populations included high fever in the range of 39-41 degrees Celsius, excessive mucus discharge from the mouth and foaming, sores in the form of canker sores in the oral cavity and tongue, refusal to eat, and limping leg.
The other signs were leg wounds that ended with loose nails, difficulty in standing, trembling, rapid breathing pace, declined milk production, and weight loss.
The provincial government and stakeholders conducted a meeting to formulate steps to halt the spread of the disease in the livestock population, so that it did not spread to other areas.
It was confirmed as per May 5, 2022, that the livestock in four districts in East Java had contracted foot and mouth disease, based on laboratory results of the Veterinary Farma Center (PUSVETMA) after receiving reports of observation by the East Java Livestock Office.
The first case was reported in Gresik District on April 28, 2022, with a total of 402 beef cattle infected with the disease that spread across five sub-districts and 22 villages.
The second case was reported on May 1, 2022, in Lamongan District. Some 102 beef cattle were indicated to have the disease that spread across three sub-districts and six villages.
On the same day, a similar case was found in 595 beef cattle in Sidoarjo and spread in 11 sub-districts and 14 villages.
The fourth case was reported on May 3, 2022, in Mojokerto District in which 148 cattle contracted the disease that spread across nine sub-districts and 19 villages.
The governor remarked that the disease inflicted as many as 1,247 heads of livestock in the four districts, all of whom showed symptoms indicative of the illness.
The meeting also resulted in the recommendation of limited depopulation for livestock confirmed positive for foot and mouth disease in accordance with the standard operating procedures of the Agriculture Ministry.
Other efforts entail treatment and preparing vaccination for healthy livestock in the affected areas. At least 70 percent of the population, she noted.
The East Java Livestock Office had taken some measures, such as offering symptomatic treatment by a team from the district level to reduce panic selling.
The provincial government also recommended a warning status to be issued for foot and mouth disease in affected districts as well as limiting the distribution of livestock from and to the area in question, she concluded.
Moreover, this Saturday, the East Java Provincial Government suggested to determine the status of the PMK outbreak in districts with tested positive cases as well as limiting livestock traffic to and from the outbreak area, Parawansa stated.
