Sick Cattle Mandatory Quarantine In Palembang, Given Injection Drugs To PMK Vaccines

Illustration of cattle threatened with mouth and nail disease (FMD). (Between)

PALEMBANG - The Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DPP) of the City of Palembang said that every cow that is sick and clinically diagnosed with mouth and hoof disease (FMD) must be quarantined to restore its health.

Head of DPP Palembang Sayuti said the quarantine period lasted at least 14 days, placing sick cows separately from healthy ones in separate cages.

"If a cow has been diagnosed with FMD, it should be physically strengthened by being quarantined, at least passing the 14-day incubation period," Sayuti said in Palembang, South Sumatra, quoted from Antara, Thursday, June 9.

During the process, it is recommended that farmers give injection drugs to every sick cow under the supervision of a veterinarian so that the wounds on the legs and mouth can be dried to the maximum.

Furthermore, in the design of handling implementation for cows whose health condition is normal, vaccines are given to increase their immunity to avoid transmission of FMD.

This is because FMD is a virus in animals whose clinical treatment tends to be the same as the handling of COVID-19 patients in humans, namely maintaining the immune system.

The current problem is that there is no drug stock so that sick cows in Palembang are increasing.

Sayuti ensured that the Palembang City Government continued to make maximum efforts to overcome this problem, which was being consulted with the Directorate of Animal Health at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Lampung Veterinary Center, and the Indonesian Veterinary Medicine Association (ASOHI) to immediately obtain supplies of drugs and vaccines.

Chairman of the Indonesian Veterinary Association (PDHI) of South Sumatra, Jafrizal, said the drugs needed included antihistamines, vitamins and fever-reducing drugs.

The drugs are expected to be available soon to help heal cows exposed to FMD, which has been spread evenly to all farms in Palembang.

The distribution area includes cattle farms in the Sekojo, Talang Jambe, Keramasan, Gandus, Sukawinatan, Sako, and Sukajaya areas.

"As long as the stock of veterinary drugs is empty, as an alternative the team of doctors give paracetamol and amoxillin to cattle, to relieve the pain," he said.

The number of exposed cows is also influenced by the inaccuracy of the breeders in bringing in from outside the region and the loosening of restrictions on livestock transport traffic.

Where, the cows that the breeders bring in come from areas with moderately high levels of exposure to FMD, including Ogan Ilir, Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU).

In fact, breeders have been advised to tighten the health checks of cattle ordered from outside the region and must be accompanied by a health certificate resulting from a medical medical examination.

“There are still those who bring in cows secretly, for example from Tanjung Raja, Ogan Ilir, where the level of exposure is high. Because PMK is a virus, so if only one cow is infected, it will quickly spread, even within a 3 Kilometer radius," he said.

He hopes that the obstacles found in the field can be responded to quickly so that a fatal condition does not occur, namely the mass death of cows, which then affects the number of cattle shortages for Eid al-Adha 1443 Hijriyah in July 2020.

Meanwhile, Head of the Palembang Lestari Business Cattle Breeders Cooperative, Yani, said that his party noted that based on data collected from farmers, there were around 1,500 cows exposed to the FMD virus.

"The total number is around 1,500 cows, specifically for Sukajaya, from Sukawinatan, Suak Bato, Ponorogo, to Talang Jering, there are 150 cows exposed to FMD," he said.

The 150 heads consisted of ordinary cattle, bali cattle, and limousine cattle prepared for sacrificial animals.

"This includes 60 bali cattle and my limousine was also exposed to FMD because it was infected from other cattle breeders around my cage," he said.