Outbreak Of Mouth And Nail Disease, Gresik Breeders Asked To Stop Bringing Livestock

A number of cattle cattle in the middle of the Trans Sulawesi route on the Tawaeli-Toboli axis in Palu, in May 2019. (Antara)

GRESIK - The Agriculture Service (Dispertan) asked farmers in Gresik to temporarily stop bringing in new livestock. This step was taken to prevent the spread of mouth and nail disease (PMK) which began to infect a number of areas in East Java.

Head of Gresik Dispertan Eko Anindito Putro said his party had issued a circular asking farmers not to bring in new animals.

"Because the transmission is quite fast. The FMD virus can last up to 40 days in animals with an incubation period of three to four weeks. We are currently continuing to investigate how far it has spread," he said in Gresik, Tuesday, May 10.

He said that the first time he received a report of a PMK case, it came from Sooko Village, Wringinanom District where dozens of livestock were attacked by FMD.

He said the characteristics of animals that were attacked by FMD were mouth sores, foaming, discharge from the nose, fever, shortness of breath, and sores on the legs.

"This FMD is quite vicious. Because this disease causes animals to lose weight, become disabled, and even die," he said, as quoted by Antara.

Until now, the Gresik Dispertan noted that there were seven sub-districts whose livestock were attacked by FMD, namely Wringinanom, Driyorejo, Kedamean, Menganti, Balongpanggang, Benjeng, and Cerme.

Currently the Gresik Dispertan has limited veterinarians and has requested assistance from the Indonesian Veterinary Association (PDHI).

"For the time being, the treatment that is being carried out is to limit access in and out to administering medicines. For vaccines, we are still waiting for the ministry's recommendation," he said.