As Indonesia's Livestock Barn, How Does NTT Anticipate FMD Threat?

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

NTT - East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) can be referred to as Indonesia's cattle barn. How not, only cows, the population in the province is more than one million heads.

So how does NTT anticipate the spread of foot and mouth disease (PMK) that threatens their livestock population?

The Head of the Veterinary Health and Public Health Division of the NTT Health Office, Drh Melky Angsar, said that his party had anticipated PMK together with relevant stakeholders. Melky emphasized that his party was on high alert to prevent PMK.

"NTT is in the first alert position in anticipating the transmission of foot and mouth disease in livestock. This is done because NTT is an area that has a very large livestock population," said Head of the Veterinary Health and Public Health Division of the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Health Office, Drh Melky Angsar, in Kupang, Sunday.

Melky explained that the NTT Provincial Livestock Service had coordinated with all regencies/cities to make various efforts to prevent the spread of PMK.

One form of preventing the entry of FMD cases in NTT is by prohibiting the entry of livestock from outside the region such as cattle, buffalo, pigs, sheep, goats, including by-products such as meat, leather, and milk into NTT to prevent the entry of the FMD virus.

The NTT Provincial Government has also formed a task force for controlling the spread of FMD in livestock which involves the quarantine, TNI/Polri, Satpol PP, Sea Transportation, and Customs and Excise, said Melky Angsar.

Data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of NTT in 2021, the cattle population in NTT is known to reach 1.25 million heads. The population excludes buffalo, horses, goats, and pigs.

Indonesia itself in 1990 has been declared free from FMD according to the decision of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). However, now, the vigilance of areas with high livestock populations has increased as cases of FMD were found in East Java and Aceh Provinces in May 2022.