FMD Outbreak Impact In Indonesia Could Spread To Tourism Sector

Veterinarians prepare to give vaccine injections to cattle with indications of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Aceh Besar in May 2022. (Antara-Ampelsa)

JAKARTA - Deputy Head Coordinator (Wakakordalops) FMD Task Force Brigadier General Ary Laksmana Widjaja stated that the problems caused by foot and mouth disease (FMD) in addition to the food security sector could spread to the tourism sector.

Ary said that in terms of food security, the supply chain will be cut off if livestock gets sick or die.

However, if we look further at the tourism sector, this will cause concern for tourists from countries that produce animal products or have a large number of livestock.

"For sectors that are further afield, for example with the increasing number of confirmed cases of FMD in Indonesia, it will also affect the tourism sector," Ary said in an online speech followed in Jakarta, Wednesday evening, August 3.

He gave an example from the tourism sector, it can affect tourists who come from Australia. The FMD virus in Indonesia does not make people sick, but it can be carried in the human body through luggage.

In addition, FMD virus is said to be able to survive long enough on surfaces, unlike COVID-19.

"Now this is what is worrying, so we must consider this not just an issue of mouth and nail disease, but the implications are also not only on the issue of food security, but also its implications," he said, according to Antara.

Moreover, Indonesia will hold a high-level G20 meeting in Bali, so it is feared that FMD will disrupt these activities. For this reason, the FMD case cannot be considered a local issue.

"Therefore, an FMD Task Force was formed at the national and provincial, district and city levels so that this becomes a national issue that must be resolved cross-sectorally by all stakeholders," he said.