On Monday, July 25th, FMD was discovered in cattle in the Tabanan area of Bali. At least three of the cows that belonged to one of the farmers were showing signs of infection, like foaming at the mouth and being weak.
Foot and mouth disease, or FMD in Bali, is most often seen in Buleleng and Karangasem, although the condition has been reported in other regions as well.
The head of the Tabanan agriculture office said that when they heard that cattle in Demung village might have been infected with FMD, they took saliva samples from the animals right away to send to the Veterinary Center in Denpasar for further testing.
“If the results are negative, the right steps will be taken to stop the spread of the virus, whether we like it or not,” he said.
Later, authorities said they buried the heads and the bones and kept the meat because the meat of the cow according to PMK is safe to eat if boiled first.
There are an estimated 600,000 cattle, 700,000 pigs, and approximately 50,000 goats in Bali alone that need vaccinations. Over 18,000 animals have been vaccinated so far. According to officials, roughly 60% of the 4000 cows in Bagor, West Java, have also been infected with FMD.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture will compensate farmers Rp 10 million per head to replace the slaughtered cattle.
Meanwhile, officials have urged that all other livestock be isolated to prevent the spread of FMD in Bali. One way to prevent the spread is to also regularly spray the cage with disinfectant.
There have been reports of children contracting FMD in Bali after swimming in hotel pools.
FMD is highly contagious. It can be passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing, or touching infected blister fluid. Additionally, the virus can be found in the feces of infected kids which explains why children have been catching it in hotel pools.
Pools in Bali are awesome. However, all it takes is “one diarrhea incident” for a child to ingest 10 to 100 million Cryptosporidium oocytes from the water, which may then be swallowed by young children (because, let’s face it, every child drinks pool water once or twice). And if the child shits in the pool has FMD, then so will any child who drinks the pool water.
And if the pool lacks the proper mix of chemicals, then…
- Pseudomonas may cause pus-filled rashes
- Legionella can cause a fever and cough
- Shigella can cause diarrhea
- Giardia can cause diarrhea
- Norovirus can cause diarrhea
- E. coli can cause diarrhea.
- All are often misdiagnosed as Bali Belly.
Some of these bacteria are resistant to chlorine, whereas others are not. The bottom line is that hotel pools are full with microorganisms that cause diarrhea.
If you’re bringing your kids on a vacation to Bali, you might want to pack some waterproof swim diapers or pampers. In addition, you should know that you will need to bring them with you from your home country because they are not available for purchase locally.
- Rashes, small mouth ulcers, and blisters on the hands and feet are all symptoms of FMD
- The illness is usually mild, and most children recover quickly
- Pain medicine can help with discomfort along with drinking lots of fluids is important
- Keep children in your hotel room until blisters have dried up
Although FMD in Bali poses no risk to tourists, it can be extremely harmful to animals with cloven hooves, such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and camels, leaving them unable to eat and, in extreme cases, lame or dead.
As a response, several nations in the area, especially Australia, are taking extra measures to safeguard their animals. In fact, the disease poses the greatest biosecurity risk to Australia’s livestock, and an outbreak could result in widespread culling of infected animals and the end of Australia’s lucrative beef export market for years to come.
Australia has begun increasing biosecurity at airports, with checks for meat and dairy products and warnings to visitors that dirt on their shoes may accidentally create Australia’s first FMD epidemic in 150 years.
Nonetheless, “Foot Mouth Disease would be catastrophic if it arrived in Australia,” according to the country’s Chief Veterinary Officer Mark Schipp, who is advising the government on how to keep the virus out.
He stated that officials are considering ordering tourists to remove their shoes or not wear any shoes at all, leaving their footwear behind.
Schipp stated. If you’re wearing flip-flops in Bali, leave them there.
He added that the advice is not an official instruction but is one of several options being considered.