The Dean of the Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences (FPP), Diponegoro University (Undip), Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Waluyo Hadi Eko Prasetyo, M.S., M.Agr., IPU was present as a resource person in the Online Seminar on “Stakeholder Capacity Building to Build Alertness and Vigilance for Handling Foot and Mouth Diseases (PMK) in Central Java”, which was organized by the Regional Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMD) of Central Java Province, on Tuesday (21/6).
In his material, Prof. Bambang conveyed that the causes of FMD are viruses and sensitive animals that can be infected are cows, goats, sheep, pigs, deer, and buffalo. There is no zoonosis (not contagious to humans), the transmission rate can reach 100%, the mortality rate is quite low but in young animals it can be high (up to 50%), transmission is fast through the air, ingestion/feeding/drinking and contact.
“The symptoms can be seen, such as fever of 40 degrees Celsius, excreta in the mouth, blisters on the hoof, paralysis of the sores on the hoof, blisters on the tongue, and blisters on the lips,” he said.
He conveyed the strategies that can be done, among others is slaughter carried out at the abattoir (RPH) but it is impossible for all the sacrificial animals to be slaughtered at the abattoir; slaughter at the mosque or prayer room provided that each location has an area for livestock arrivals, a slaughterhouse, a skinning area, a place for separating the legs, heads and offal, a place for washing the contents of the cattle canal, a place for enumeration, weighing and packaging, as well as a place for storing meat that is ready to be distributed. The location must be reviewed by the Animal Husbandry Service officer before the sacrifice is carried out; ensuring that the livestock comes from a FMD-free area accompanied by a health certificate; and making a hole to collect blood and the contents of the digestive tract, it should not be flowed into the river because it can contain FMD virus. After the livestocks are slaughtered, the hole for collecting blood and feces must be sprayed with disinfectant and filled with soil; offal, head, bones must be crushed for minimal 30 minutes; distributed meat must be tightly packed in plastic bags; executors of slaughtering sacrificial animals carry out self-disinfecting before and after slaughter.
“The suggestion to realize food safety in a sustainable manner is that the government is obliged to ensure the safety of animal food in a sustainable manner by tightening supervision of meat sales in the market. RPH ought to provide official validation (stamp) that meat is safe after inspection by authorized officers, and provide education to the public not to be tempted by the cheap price of meat. Coordination and synergy between policy makers, universities and livestock business actors to realize Safe, Healthy, Whole, Halal or (Aman, Sehat, Utuh, Halal) ASUH livestock. Furthermore, it is necessary to make a long-term SOP for controlling FMD in all animal food production chains (livestock farmers, slaughter executors, livestock transportation, distributors, outlets, processing activities)”, he concluded. (Lin – Public Relations)