July 25, 2023

 

Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to get more than 10,000 anthrax vaccines

 

 

 

The Agriculture and Food Security Service (DPKP) of Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia, said this month it will receive more than 10,000 anthrax vaccine doses from Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture.

 

"The assistance will reach more than 10,000, but we do not know the exact number yet," said the head of DPKP, Sugeng Purwanto. According to Purwanto, Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo will hand over the vaccines to Gunungkidul district on July 13.

 

"If all goes according to plan, Minister Limpo will hand over the vaccine assistance directly to Gunungkidul," he added.

 

Meanwhile, the DPKP's veterinary medicine associate for animal husbandry and animal health, Agung Ludiro, said that earlier, the province had requested an additional 10,200 doses of the anthrax vaccine from the Agriculture Ministry. The request was based on the total vaccine needs mapped out for each district in Yogyakarta, excluding the stock of anthrax vaccine, which is currently pegged at 2,600 doses, Ludiro said.

 

"The ministry informed that they could prepare the number we requested, but there was a possibility for them to provide more," he added.

 

All vaccine doses received from the ministry will need to be used within six months, before the next batch of vaccines arrives, he higlighted.

 

He said the provision has been applied considering the previously confirmed cases of anthrax in Yogyakarta Province, namely in Jati Village, Semanu Sub-district, Gunungkidul District.

 

"Because anthrax cases have been discovered, vaccinations must be carried out every six months or twice a year," he explained.

 

To prevent anthrax cases from spreading, the vaccine doses received from the Ministry of Agriculture will be distributed to all districts in Yogyakarta province, Ludiro said.

 

"For Yogyakarta city, we are still discussing the number because the livestock in that area is not a lot," he stated.

 

According to Ludiro, particularly in Gunungkidul, the administration of the vaccine will be divided into three zones, namely, the red zone in Semanu sub-district, the yellow zone comprising sub-districts that are directly adjacent to the red zone and the green zone comprising sub-districts that are not directly adjacent.

 

"In the red zone, 100% of all livestock will be vaccinated; then in the second and third zones, at least 80% of livestock," Ludiro said.

 

Based on data from DPKP, a total of 12 livestock have died from anthrax in Jati Village, consisting of six cows and six goats since April 2023.

- ANTARA