Sweeping anthrax inoculate planned

JAKARTA (JP): The West Java administration will distribute 130,000 free vaccines to livestock owners in Hambalang subdistrict, Citeureup district in Bogor, where an outbreak of anthrax has been detected.

The head of the West Java animal health office, Musny Suatmodjo, told Antara on Wednesday the directorate general of husbandry had ordered 60,000 vaccines from a factory in Surabaya, the capital of East Java, to supplement the office's stock of 70,000 vaccines.

Musny said his office deployed on Wednesday veterinarians to the subdistrict and its surrounding areas to give the vaccinations.

The office has targeted more than 22,000 goats and cattle across Citeureup district for the vaccinations. The free vaccinations also are planned for areas within a 10-kilometer radius around the district.

Further vaccinations are planned in the next six months, Musny said.

If there are left-over vaccines, the provincial administration will give them to other areas prone to anthrax, including Purwakarta, Subang, Karawang and Bekasi.

Some 20 Hambalang residents were found to be infected with anthrax last month, with two of them dying.

The disease is caused by Bacilius anthracis, a spore-forming bacterium which can survive for 100 years in the ground and can only be destroyed through incineration. Livestock usually die about five days after being infected.

Musny said Bogor regency has recorded nine anthrax outbreaks since 1965. The outbreaks took place in 1968, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1982, 1985 and 1986.

The Jakarta administration has warned of the spread of the disease, but no vaccinations have been ordered for livestock in the city.

Meanwhile, vendors selling goat meat and beef in Bogor mayoralty have complained about a plunge in sales following reports of the anthrax outbreak. At least five beef sellers in a traditional market in Bogor have closed their businesses for the time being.

One of the traders, M. Yusup, said the some 50 butchers in the market could each sell up to three heads of cattle or three goats per day before the disease made the headlines.

"Now I think I'm lucky to be able to sell one head of cattle a day," Yusup, 40, said.

Rudi Darma, 27, said he was only selling up to 20 kilograms of beef now, down from 30 kilograms just weeks ago.

The traders said they were suffering losses because of their unsold beef and goat meat, which cannot be consumed after three days.

An employee at the city-owned slaughterhouse in Pejagalan, Susanta, said the demand for livestock had been on the decline over the past few weeks.

"Each employee has slaughtered an average of two heads of cattle a day for the past few weeks, down from five," he said. (21/amd)