Three million foot-and-mouth disease vaccines arrive in Indonesia

Another three million doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine have arrived in Indonesia, with the Australian Government footing the $4.4 million bill.

It comes after Australia supplied Indonesia with an initial one million doses in August at a cost of $1.5m — part of the Federal Government’s “three-pronged approach to keep Australia FMD-free”.

Announcing the arrival of the latest shipment this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said it was part of an additional $10m in Federal biosecurity funding to support Indonesia’s response to FMD.

“These vaccines are currently being rolled out and administered to cattle in Bali and Sulawesi,” she said.

“A total of four million FMD vaccines have now been delivered, demonstrating Australia’s commitment to supporting Indonesia’s response to the FMD outbreak and further highlighting the close partnership between our two countries.”

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the $10m biosecurity program provided a range of support including technical assistance for Indonesia’s vaccination efforts, training for vaccinators, support for national control planning and help with surveillance systems.

“We are deeply committed to supporting our neighbours manage FMD, as it is in all our interests to ensure this outbreak is managed and eventually defeated,” he said. “This delivery continues our comprehensive approach to keep Australia FMD-free by helping our neighbours respond to the outbreak, strengthening our biosecurity border measures and enhancing our preparedness at home.”

FMD was detected in cattle in Indonesia in May for the first time in 36 years, with more than 450,000 cases confirmed to date.

A vaccination program is in progress across the archipelago nation focused on support for the small-holder farming sector, which makes up about 90 per cent of Indonesia’s cattle industry.

FMD — which affects all cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, goats and pigs — has not been detected in Australia for more than 100 years.