Ministry Of Agriculture Guarantees Outbreaks Of Nail And Mouth Disease Of Livestock Will Not Disrupt Meat Supply For Eid Al-Adha

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) guarantees that an outbreak of nail and mouth disease (PMK) in livestock does not interfere with the supply of meat for the upcoming Eid al-Adha. The reason is, based on experience every year that the supply of livestock needed for Eid is only 10 to 20 percent of the population.

The Director-General of Livestock and Animal Health at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nasrullah, is optimistic that the supply of livestock for the upcoming Eid al-Adha will still be available. Therefore, his party will make a special standard operating procedure (SOP) so that the distribution of livestock from one area to another runs smoothly without being contaminated by the FMD outbreak.

"We are currently discussing this, hopefully, 1 or 2 weeks before Eid al-Adha, we already have it. So that Muslims can hold Eid safely and healthily," he said in a virtual press conference, Wednesday, May 11.

The Ministry of Agriculture, said Nasrullah, has handled a number of PMK outbreaks. These include determining affected areas and issuing a circular letter from the Minister of Agriculture to all governors, regents, and mayors to be vigilant and take the necessary steps.

In addition, Nasrullah continued, thousands of medical personnel have now been deployed in the field. So that it can provide supervision and education to farmers. "We have created an SOP frame related to its handling, control, destruction," he said.

Previously reported, the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) determined that as many as six districts in two Indonesian provinces were infected with an outbreak of mouth and nail disease (FMD) in livestock.

Two districts were hit by the FMD outbreak in Aceh, namely Aceh Tamiang District and East Aceh District. Meanwhile, four districts in East Java are Gresik, Sidoarjo, Lamongan, and Mojokerto.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture stated that the number of cases of livestock infected with FMD in East Java was 3,205 heads with the death case reaching 1.5 percent. Meanwhile, positive cases of PMK in Aceh were 2,226 with 1 death.

Mouth and hoof disease in these animals infects livestock with split hooves such as cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs. Transmission of this disease occurs through viruses that spread through the air or airborne or direct contact.

The Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that the mouth and nail disease outbreak in livestock was not transmitted to humans, but only to fellow farm animals.