TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo declared an emergency following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in animals in two provinces, Aceh and East Java.

“Regencies [that are hit by the outbreak] are Aceh Tamiang and East Aceh, as well as Gresik, Sidoarjo, Lamongan, and Mojokerto in East Java,” said Syahrul in an online press conference Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

The ministry cooperated with the local governments to carry out efforts in mitigating the outbreak. Syahrul stated that FMD is one of the diseases that spreads rapidly through air and direct contacts.

Thus, the regions must be fully under the control of the local governments and the ministry in order to prevent it from mutating further.

According to Syahrul, the government concluded three measures from a number of meetings. First, taking emergency steps or SOS agenda. Secondly, taking a temporary measure to prevent the outbreak from spreading further. Thirdly, taking recovery measures.

The first case of foot and mouth disease in livestock was first found in Gresik, East Java. There were 402 cows suspected of having contracted the virus in five sub-districts and 22 villages of the province on April 28, 2022. The East Java Agriculture Agency stated that this acute infectious disease has a transmission rate of 90-100 percent.

Read: Govt Urged to Examine Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreak before Eid al-Adha

MUHAMMAD HENDARTYO