Animal Mouth And Nail Diseases Have Not Been Found In Bengkulu Province

Head of the Bengkulu Province Livestock and Animal Health Service, Muhammad Syarkawi/Photo: Antara

BENGKULU - The Livestock and Animal Health Service of Bengkulu Province stated that the mouth and nail disease (FMD) which attacks branch-legged animals due to a virus has not been found in the area so far.

Head of the Livestock and Animal Health Service of Bengkulu Province, Muhammad Syarkawi in Bengkulu, Thursday, May 12, said that in Bengkulu Province no symptoms of FMD have been found that attack livestock such as cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep, pigs and other animals. "This is a new disease outbreak that has occurred in several provinces in Indonesia, such as Aceh, Lampung, Bangka Belitung and others," said Syarkawi as quoted by Antara.

He explained that FMD is a viral infectious disease that is acute and highly contagious in even/split-toed animals.

Symptoms of animals infected with PKM are characterized by the formation of vesicles/blisters and erosions in the mouth, tongue, gums, nostrils, nipples, and on the skin around the nails.

Syarkawi continued, his party through officers at the Livestock Service Office at the sub-district and village levels had monitored the condition of livestock in the field to find out whether they had contracted FMD or not.

Because the spread of the FMD virus is very fast because it is through the air, so if one animal in one area is positive for FMD, the other animals will be infected with the same virus.

Therefore, he appealed to all breeders in Bengkulu Province to maintain the condition of their livestock because the virus is easy to attack if the condition of the livestock is weak.

"As well as limiting the process of buying and selling animals or livestock meat to be careful because there is the greatest chance of spreading the virus," he said.

According to Syarkawi, the FMD virus causes huge economic losses for farmers and decreases production yields and becomes an obstacle to trade in animals and their products.