Livestock Transport Still Closely Monitored in NTB as FMD Outbreak Cont.

TheIndonesia.co - The Central Lombok Police in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province and the military continues limiting and closely monitoring livestock transport in and out of the regency to prevent further spread of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) as the outbreak continues.

Chief of Central Lombok Police Grand Commissioner Adjutant Irfan Nurmansyah said raids and checking will still be carried out on livestock transports to contain the FMD outbreak that has been hitting Indonesia since May.

“This activity is to stop the spread of FMD, especially in Central Lombok,” Nurmansyah confirmed on Monday, August 8, as reported by Antara.

During the raid and checking program, joint forces will be deployed to four locations that are entry and exit points for livestock carrier to and from Batunyala livestock market.

Besides checking livestock carriers, all personnel are also expected to educate the public about FMD prevention and handling.

Head of Central Lombok agriculture office Taufikurahman said new cases are continued to be found in the area; therefore, livestock markets are still closed at the moment in a bid to prevent prolonged outbreak that will impact farmers and public at large.

“The total of FMD cases in Central Lombok is 29,426 – 26,679 have recovered while 2,626 are still treated. This means the recovery rate of FMD cases is 90 percent,” Taufikurahman revealed.

Meanwhile, as of Sunday, Ministry of Agriculture reported that more than 1.09 million cattle in Indonesia had been vaccinated against FMD.