Animals die after anthrax shots

Animals die after anthrax shots

Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Sleman

A Sleman resident, Katiman, 36, is still puzzled why two of his
goats died after being inoculated with anthrax vaccine by animal
husbandry officials on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 respectively.

One of them died a day after being vaccinated and the other
died a day later. Residents of Banteng and Hargobinangun villages
in Pakem district, Sleman, Yogyakarta, can only surrender to
their fate and hope the government will compensate them for their
losses.

Besides Katiman, 29 other goat herders in Hargobinangun in 12
hamlets also faced the same fate. Based on data from the
Hargobinangun village office, 54 goats had already died after
being vaccinated.

The death toll could probably rise because dozens of other
vaccinated goats were in a poor condition and had no appetite.

"As anthrax is considered harmful, I gladly welcomed husbandry
officers when they came here on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. But after
they vaccinated the mother goat, it died the next day. I'd bred
it on a sharing basis with another person (any kids produced will
be shared equally).

"I hope the government will compensate us for the loss of the
goats. I don't have money to buy a goat," Katiman, the father of
two, told The Jakarta Post.

Another goat breeder, Priyo Diharjo, 62, had a similar
experience. Three of his 11 goats died after being vaccinated.

"They were vaccinated on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. Two days later,
one of them died, and the two others died later. They were
healthy before they were vaccinated," said Priyo.

Hargobinangun village chief Mulyono confirmed the deaths of
many goats after being injected with anthrax vaccine. The
vaccination program was launched following the issuance of
Circular No. 005/2450/2005 dated Nov. 26 by the Sleman animal
husbandry office.

Anthrax vaccine is given free for goats, cows, water
buffaloes, horses and pigs. There are about 1,000 goats, 2,300
cows and only three horses in Hargobinangun. No local villagers
breed pigs.

"We had just received a copy of the letter on Nov. 29 and
veterinarians immediately vaccinated the animals without
explaining the procedure to us first. As we believed they know
more about anthrax, we merely complied," said Mulyono.

What disappointed Mulyono was the fact that there was no
explanation whatsoever about the disaster from the relevant
agencies. To calm the victims down, as many as 30 distraught
farmers were gathered at the village hall and given only Rp
25,000 (US$2.70) in compensation for each of their dead
livestock.

"We collected the money from village officials," Mulyono said.

He promised he would appeal to the Sleman regental
administration to compensate the breeders because most of them
were poor and probably could not afford to buy anymore goats.

"The cost of a goat is Rp 400,000, so we will ask the
administration to give them that amount," he said.

Sleman agriculture, husbandry and forestry office head Ahmad
Yulianto also confirmed that dozens of goats had died being
vaccinated, but was uncertain what caused the deaths.

"There were 35 goats that died. We will discuss the problem
with the relevant agencies and experts from Gajah Mada
University's (UGM) school of medicine to determine the cause of
the deaths," he added.

The vaccination program, he said, was intended to prevent
anthrax from spreading in the area, where symptoms of the virus
had been detected in August last year.

UGM veterinary expert Surya Amanu disclosed that there were
several possible factors that could have led to the deaths of the
vaccinated goats.

The first probability is that a virulent bacteria in the
vaccine may have become pathogenic upon vaccination, which later
caused infection, he said.

Surya said the second possibility was, when a sick animal was
vaccinated, the vaccine would increase the body temperature and
could cause the animal to lose its appetite. The animals then
would not become healthier but even more ill, he added.

"The animals might have been infected by other diseases (not
anthrax) when they were vaccinated and this could cause further
infection," he said.

Another factor was that the vaccinated animals might have
already been infected by anthrax but their owners were unaware of
it. Anthrax can cause extensive infection which is fatal, Surya
said.