Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Health

Indonesia focuses on getting their foot and mouth disease outbreak under control by year-end

Indonesia aims to get its foot and mouth disease outbreak under control by the end of the year

Reuters
Published
close
Fox News Flash top headlines for August 2 Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 2

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Indonesia is aiming to get its foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak under control by the end of this year, a government official said on Tuesday, as it forges ahead with a program to vaccinate millions of livestock.

More than 455,000 livestock in 23 of the archipelago's 37 provinces have been infected with the disease as of Tuesday, according to government data, with 4,720 animals killed by the disease and 7,561 more slaughtered.

Cattle producing countries including Australia and New Zealand have raised their guard against FMD after infections were found in Indonesia's holiday island of Bali.

Cattle being inspected for FMD

Cattle being inspected by a  Marine and Agricultural Food Security officer in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 24, 2022. (REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)

"We hope by the end of this year, we can control the situation by having the number of cases reported reduced from time to time," Wiku Adisasmito, spokesperson for the government task force handling the outbreak, told a briefing.

"We would also reassure the international community that Indonesia is capable of controlling the outbreak."

INDONESIA RIVER CLEANUP LEADS TO 11 STUDENTS DROWNING, 10 RESCUED

FMD is highly transmissible and causes lesions and lameness in cattle, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals, but does not affect humans.

Indonesia has vaccinated nearly 900,000 livestock since launching its inoculation program in June and has secured 3 million doses so far. Authorities have announced plans to buy millions more doses by year-end.

INDONESIA BUILDING ITS OWN 'JURASSIC PARK' DESPITE WARNINGS

The country has also stepped up biosecurity measures such as sanitation foot mats and disinfectant sprayers at several airports, to ensure international and domestic travellers can prevent the virus from spreading, Wiku said.