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.