Severe Viral Diarrhea Attacks Cattle in Keerom, Papua

INDONESIA - More than 100 head of cattle have died in Keerom regency, Papua, since January this year suffering from severe diarrhea caused by a viral infection that also attacks sheep, goats and pigs.

9 April 2019

1 minute read

Asia

The Papuan cattle had likely been infected by pestivirus, aka bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), which in addition to severe diarrhea leads to respiratory ailments, causes pregnant females to abort and prevents young animals from growing strong.

The infected cattle in Papua were between six and 24 months old and the pestivirus killed up to 30 percent of a herd, according to Ronal Kapisa, an official in the husbandry division of the Keenom Agriculture Agency.

"According to the data we collected, more than 100 cattle have died in the last three months," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said his office had sent organ samples from the dead cattle to the Animal Health Center’s laboratory in Maros, South Sulawesi, for examination. The results confirmed the symptoms, Mr Kapisa said.

However, he said his office was still waiting for the hard evidence of the examination results to confirm the disease attacking the cattle and to decide on further action.

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Source: The Jakarta Post