Balinese officials have not recorded a single case of the highly infectious foot-and-mouth disease since August 1. But on a recent trip to several parts of the island, the ABC found cattle with clear signs of FMD.
"I am certain. I am certain. I am certain it's not FMD. If we had reports of FMD we would go there and check.""Alternative causes might include poisoning, oral foreign bodies, infection of the gums or tongue, intake of irritant chemicals," he said."It's very easy to differentiate by inspection of tongue and hard palate for blisters [or] ulcers and foot lesions and history of local FMD and vaccination history," he said.
More than 60 cattle were also slaughtered in Denpasar in early September, with authorities there confirming it was because of the disease. "Luhut told us that Bali has to be safe, has to have zero cases of foot-and-mouth," said I Wayan Sudana.Minister Luhut in August asked authorities on the island to take steps to control the movement of cattle in and out of Bali, to prevent any smuggling of livestock by land or through ports.Dr Ross Ainsworth, an Australian vet based in Bali, says it would not have been possible to eliminate the disease as quickly as claimed.
Case numbers in Bali are undoubtedly low, given its entire herd is under 600,000 animals, spread sparsely among small family farms.Families typically own just one or two cattle each as an investment.
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