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.