East Lombok. W Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) - The government of East Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara, has detected foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in livestock in the region.
"According to the latest data, there are 243 farms confirmed to have been affected by FMD," head of the Livestock and Animal Health Office of East Lombok district, Mashyur, said, according to an official statement released here on Saturday.
Hundreds of cows have been affected by the disease in Aikmel, Suela, Labuhan Haji, Montong Gading, Wanasaba, Selong, and Pringgabaya subdistricts.
Mashyur said that many of them have recovered.
"We had taken several preventive measures before new cases were discovered by deploying all veterinarians in East Lombok," he informed.
The East Lombok district government will close the animal market on Monday (May 16, 2022) for three weeks. The government will also shut all farms for a while, which is deemed the only way to break the chain of transmission, in addition to working on vaccines for livestock.
"The only way to break the chain of transmission is to close all access that limits the mobility of farmers," Mashyur said.
He then appealed to farmers to remain calm and patient and continuously increase alertness and follow the directions given by the government.
Farmers in the district have been urged not to sell their farms at low prices due to the disease, especially because the recovery rate of FMD in Lombok district is considered to be high.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture had formulated a strategy to eradicate the disease that is affecting livestock and check its spread.
Agriculture Minister Sayhrul Yasin Limpo said that as part of efforts to eradicate the disease, a team had been assigned to check the condition on the field.
The minister also highlighted that the disease is not transmissible to humans despite it spreading rapidly among animals. To this end, apart from preparing a strategy to curb transmission, he also called on people to not harbor concerns and to not overly panic.
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