Jakarta (ANTARA) - More than 1,700 heads of cattle in East Java province have been cured of foot-and-mouth disease, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has informed.
"More than 1,700 of 7 thousand (heads of) cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease have made a recovery," Governor Parawansa said during the signing of a trade MoU (memorandum of understanding) in Pangkalpinang on Tuesday.
East Java has a cattle population of at least 5.1 million, she said. Of the number, only 7 thousand heads of cattle contracted the foot-and-mouth disease, and the remaining 5 million and more heads of cattle remained in good condition, she added.
Thus, East Java has the necessary stock to supply the demand for sacrificial animals in Bangka Belitung for the upcoming Eid al-Adha, she said.
Several districts in East Java have recorded moderate to rampant spread of the foot-and-mouth disease, the governor noted. However, a large portion of districts or cities in East Java can be considered safe in terms of the spread of the outbreak.
"We have determined spots in which livestock entry and exit (distribution) were prohibited because the process of this livestock virus transmission is through carbon, which can be carried by the wind," she said.
She also informed that some spots in East Java where livestock were allowed to be distributed were in areas where the disease transmission was low.
"This was to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease because the transmission of this virus is via the wind, which could be carried up to two kilometers, and can increase the rate of cattle infected with the disease," she added. (*)
