Jakarta, IO – Indonesia has temporarily suspended the import of cattle from four Australian livestock facilities after they were tested positive to be infected with the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) virus. The disease was detected in 13 cows when checked by quarantine officers at Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta.
Agriculture Ministry quarantine agency head Bambang said the incubation period of LSD is around 28 days. In addition, the findings of cows infected with LSD have increased. Thus, the government immediately took the decision to temporarily halt the import of the cattle from Australia.
“Based on the results of the laboratory examination, positive LSD was detected and immediate action was taken in the form of conditional slaughter supervised by the quarantine veterinarians. We found clinical findings of LSD in imported cattle continuing to increase, therefore we decided to suspend imports from the four facilities,” Bambang said, per Katadata, Wednesday (2/8).
Furthermore, Bambang said that his agency has coordinated with the Australian government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) to investigate the findings of LSD on four farms. This is because the incubation period for the LSD virus shows that the spread of the disease had occurred before the cows were sent to Indonesia.
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“We really believe there is potential for it to come from there. So we really hope that if the infection occured before entering Indonesia it will also be a lesson for us to be more careful in order to prevent the spread of this disease,” he added. Indonesia itself is one of the biggest markets for cattle exports from Australia. There are 60 farms that supply cattle to Indonesia. However, with the suspension, currently only 56 farms are still allowed to supply cattle because no cows there have been found to be infected with LSD. (bp)