Foot and mouth disease spreading in Indonesia

Beef is a popular food in Indonesia, where nearly 90% of the population is Muslim. But the foot-and-mouth disease is spreading, making people in this country afraid of eating beef.

Indonesia has not experienced a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in cattle since 1986, so the announcement of an outbreak in East Java in early May alarmed farmers and consumers.

The disease has now spread to at least 16 of the 34 provinces, infecting more than 20,700 cows. Symptoms observed in cows with foot and mouth disease are high fever, runny nose, rapid breathing, loss of appetite, bubbling, blistering and festering nails.

A cow infected with FMD in Aceh province – Photo: Channel News Asia

According to East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, the province’s first FMD case was detected on April 28 in the Gresik region, then Lamongan, Sidoardjo, Mojokerto also recorded cases. The next province with the case is Aceh. Farmer Abdurrahman Wahid noticed his cattle were sick on April 30.

The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) defines FMD as a contagious viral disease of livestock. The disease affects pigs, cows, sheep, goats and many other hoofed ruminants. Common symptoms are fever, blisters between the fingers, nails, mammary glands, lips or tongue that make the animal unable to walk or eat.

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