newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
An Indonesian government official said Thursday that the popular tourist destination of Bali will be included among priority areas for a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination program to prevent further spread.
While Indonesia aims to contain foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks by the end of the year, cattle-producing countries such as Australia and New Zealand have stepped up vigilance against the disease after an infection was discovered in Bali.
“Bali has a high level of domestic and international human traffic that could be a factor in spreading the disease, making vaccination a priority,” said a spokesperson for the government task force to handle the outbreak. Wyk Adisasmit, a spokesperson, said at the briefing.
Dealing with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Children
Australians are the top foreign tourists visiting Bali.
FMD is highly contagious, causing lesions and lameness in cattle, sheep, goats, and other cloven-hoofed animals, but does not affect humans.
There were over 479,000 active FMD cases nationwide as of Thursday, with Bali reporting more than 500 sick animals as of Thursday, according to government data.
Indonesia had vaccinated 1.33 million animals as of Thursday and plans to procure more than 28 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year, according to government data.
About 116,000 animals have been vaccinated in Bali so far.
Balinese ‘suitcase killer’ Heather Mack returns to Chicago from Indonesia with daughter
Other priority areas for vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease include livestock centers such as East Java and West Nusa Tenggara, Wyck said, urging local authorities to regulate interstate animal traffic to prevent further spread of the virus in the country. requested to strengthen the