Indonesia Starts Vaccination Program for Cattle to Contain Lumpy Skin Disease

KOMPAS.com – Australia’s chief vet is on his way to Indonesia as the country grapples with an outbreak of lumpy skin disease, ABC Australia reported.

The viral disease is carried by biting insects like mosquitoes and causes skin lesions, fever, loss of appetite, decreased milk production, and can lead to death in cattle and buffalo.

“I'll be meeting with officials to discuss our cooperation with Indonesia on the lumpy skin disease outbreak in Riau province,” Chief Veterinary Officer Mark Schipp said in his Twitter account on Wednesday, March 23.

Schipp said protecting Australia from the disease was vital.

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“An outbreak here would have serious trade impacts across the live animal trade, for exporters of dairy products, genetic materials, hides, and some meat products in addition to animal welfare issues and significant production losses,” he said.

Biggest threat in decades, vet says

Indonesia-based veterinarian Ross Ainsworth said it would be “catastrophic” if the disease reached northern Australia.

He said the outbreak in Indonesia was the “most serious threat to the Australian cattle herd” he had witnessed in decades.

“This is transmitted by biting insects, so the biosecurity measures that have been effective for many other diseases, for generations, just aren't able to protect us from this,” he told ABC Rural.

“We’ve had other viruses come down [to northern Australia] via insects on the monsoon, like blue tongue virus.

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“There just isn’t much you can do … and the fact that cattle in northern Australia aren’t able to be individually cared for, I think would put our mortality rates [for lumpy skin disease], particularly in calves, a great deal higher than elsewhere in the world — and that's what frightens me.”

Ainsworth said Australia’s cattle industry needed to quickly understand what was at stake and how the live export trade would be at “immediate risk” if the disease spread to Australia.

“Foot and mouth disease (FMD) has always been the most frightening disease we’ve been concerned about [getting] in Australia — and rightly so,” he said.

“But FMD has the potential to be eradicated because the vaccines are quite good and transmission can be halted using biosecurity measures.
“Whereas, with insect-transmitted viruses, there isn’t anything you can do.”

Federal funding to fight disease

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud was in Darwin today announcing $61.6 million to boost biosecurity efforts across northern Australia, including $15 million towards efforts to stop the disease from getting into Australia.

“Lumpy skin disease, recently confirmed in Indonesia, is a key priority,” he said.
“We are committed to protecting our $15 billion cattle industry.

“Because if we got lumpy skin disease in this country, you would lose your [live] export markets overnight and that would devastate the Northern Territory.”

Vaccination rollout in Indonesia

Indonesia has launched a major effort to contain the outbreak. A vaccination program supported by the Australia-Indonesia Health Security Partnership and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) is underway.

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There have been 330 cases of lumpy skin disease confirmed in Riau province, according to the FAO.

“If we look at the cattle population at risk, this means about 15 percent of the cattle in the area were affected,” The FAO's Luuk Schoonman said.

“Normally with a lumpy skin disease that could be up to 40 percent, so the percentage of affected cattle has been low.

“The vaccination program is ongoing in eight districts in Riau province.”

Restrictions have been placed on the movement of cattle out of the province and the Indonesian government has launched an awareness campaign.

“A major containment effort is going on, and we hope that we are able to contain lumpy skin disease to Riau Province,” Schoonman said.