Indonesia hit hard by mkz

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has hit Indonesia hard over the past month. To date, nearly 4 million infected animals have been reported. New Zealand and Australia were notified of the first infection on May 7.

After this first infection, it went quickly. A total of 3.9 million cattle were reportedly affected in 15 provinces up to and including May 17, VOI reports. According to the news site, the outbreak comes at an unfortunate time, July 10 is the Eid al-Adha holiday.

It could take the country 100 years to completely eradicate the virus, the news site says. The Minister of Agriculture also declares that the meat of a sick animal is safe to eat. The mkz virus is only harmful to even-toed ungulates.

vaccinate

Indonesia is already calling for vaccination to fight the epidemic. The Minister of Agriculture says that vaccines are imported. However, he prefers vaccines produced in Indonesia. They should be ready in a few months. This epidemic is also causing concern in Australia and New Zealand.

The New Zealand government has set aside NZ$42.9 million, or about €26 million, to maintain biosecurity in that country. For example, imported goods are checked additionally. People who have had contact with livestock overseas are not allowed to visit farms in New Zealand for a week. This country also offered aid to Indonesia contain the diseaseindicates VOI.