BRIN Researcher to Develop Oral Vaccines, Prevents Anthrax Outbreak

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Researcher at Research Center for Veterinary Science, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Rahmat Setya Adji, said that BRIN will develop oral vaccines as a necessary preventive measure against anthrax outbreak on livestock. 

"I just identified the bacterial isolates, we will start developing (the vaccine) next year," Rahamt explained during the Media Lounge Discussion event at the BJ Habibi Building in Jakarta, on Thursday, Juli 20, 2023.

According to Rahmat, vaccines for anthrax have already been developed in Surabaya and Bogor, but an oral vaccine is necessary since it's safer, easier to use, cheaper, and protective. With its convenience, Rahmat hoped that stock farmers would administer the vaccines themselves to encourage a more massive vaccination. "Vaccination on animals is harder than humans," he explained.

He admitted that developing the oral vaccine is not easy, despite its simpler steps than developing a human vaccine. If the result from bacterial isolation is prospective, they could start the lab test, limited field test, registration, and finally application. So far, Rahmat said, BRIN has conducted research on the diagnosis and detection of an anthrax outbreak, such as the one in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. The research is conducted through serology tests to detect the distribution of anthrax.

Previously, an anthrax outbreak happened in Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta which killed three people after consuming anthrax-infected red meat. Rahmat, who worked at the Ministry of Agriculture for some time, said that this is a recurrent phenomenon from 2019 to 2023 in the area.

 A brief introduction to Anthrax

Anthrax is an acute infectious bacterial disease in humans and animals caused by Bacillus anthracis. "The bacteria will create spores if exposed to air, resistant toward environmental conditions chemicals, and could live up to 150-200 years in soil," Rahmat explained.

Generally, anthrax infects herbivores at a rapid pace, killing livestock in 48 hours without any symptoms, and could transfer to humans. The ignorance of the surrounding people causes them to butcher the dead livestock. However, this could cause a lethal consequence since 1 drop of anthrax-infected blood contains 1 billion bacteria.

Therefore, Rahmat suggested that any sudden death of animals is a suspect for anthrax. The animal should not be touched or butchered, and the area shall be decontaminated by pouring 50 liters per meter square of formalin since the bacteria could penetrate the soil as deep as 20 centimeters. "It is imperative to prevent the reappearance of anthrax," he said.

Ideally, the carcass should be incinerated using a mobile incinerator, which would be costly. The alternatives are 2 meters deep burial site which will be marked after pouring the formalin over it and covering it with cement. "The living animals are then quarantined for 3-4 weeks and given antibiotics, and a vaccination if they continue to live through the quarantine," Rahmat added.

MARIA FRANSISCA LAHUR

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