Jakarta bans Bogor livestock for fear of anthrax

Jakarta bans Bogor livestock for fear of anthrax

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Bogor

In an effort to prevent the spread of anthrax into the capital,
the Jakarta administration has temporarily banned livestock
supplies from Bogor regency, where a number of villagers in one
district have died or fallen ill from the disease over the past
week.

"We are not accepting livestock from Bogor regency any longer,
especially goats. We have also deployed a team of 20 officers in
Jakarta's five municipalities to intensify the monitoring of
slaughterhouses and traditional markets to prevent any anthrax-
infected livestock from other areas coming onto the market," said
Heri Indiyanto, an official with the Jakarta Animal Husbandry,
Fishing and Maritime Agency, on Tuesday.

Since the teams were deployed last week, however, they had yet
to receive any reports of the disease in the capital.

According to Hery, Jakarta needs a daily supply of 1,000
goats. Between 300 and 400 goats are supplied by Lampung while
the remainder comes from Bogor, Bekasi, Depok and Tangerang, all
of which are on the outskirts of the capital.

Aside from taking preventive measures, Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso warned the public to be extra vigilant when buying meat.

"I would urge Jakartans not to buy cheap meat for their own
safety. Please check with the vendors that the meat, especially
goat meat, have a certificate stating that it is safe to
consume," he said.

The city administration's warning comes following the deaths
of six people in Babakan Madang district, Bogor regency, after
they consumed goat meat believed to have been infected with
anthrax.

Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyanto ordered the burning of
goat pens, the putting down of two sick goats and the imposition
of quarantine measures on the district on Sunday.

West Java Animal Husbandry Agency director Musny Soeatmodjo
announced that the Bogor regency had been banned from either
supplying or receiving livestock from other regions starting
Wednesday.

"The policy is designed to prevent the spread of the disease
to other regions," he said, adding that the regency had been
informed that the ban would be effective for 90 days.

Musny said 20 students from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture
(IPB) would be deployed to help prevent the spread of anthrax.
They would be stationed in anthrax-prone areas to monitor the
disease and to vaccinate healthy livestock.

Earlier, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said that the
government would provide free medication to those who contracted
the disease.

After the deaths of six people, 65 more villagers have been
displaying the early symptoms of anthrax, including headaches,
stomach aches and nausea. Nine of the 65 have been admitted to
the Cibinong Hospital while two others have been sent to the
Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM).

However, the RSCM announced on Tuesday that one of the two
patients, Erna Aryanti, 9, was not suffering from anthrax as
suspected earlier.

RSCM director Merdias Almatsier said that Erna was suspected
of suffering from Immune Thrombocytopaenic Purpura (ITP). ITP is
a disease affecting the blood platelets (small cells that are
needed for the blood to clot normally).

After Erna was found not to be suffering from anthrax, she was
transferred to the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI)
Hospital in East Jakarta as the RSCM was full.