Media Release
19 May 2023
The Australian Government has handed over 500,000 doses of lumpy skin disease (LSD) vaccines to Indonesia as part of cooperation to combat the spread of exotic animal diseases.
The vaccines are part of 1 million doses the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is providing to assist Indonesia to control LSD.
The vaccines were provided to the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture in Jakarta at a handover event on 17 May at the Australian Embassy. The handover was completed by Dr Nuryani Zainuddin, Director of Animal Health in Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Australian Agriculture Counsellor Mr Dane Roberts.
The new vaccines supplement 435,000 LSD vaccines Australia delivered to Indonesia from March 2022 under the Australia Indonesia Health Security Partnership funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Acting Australian Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Beth Cookson said LSD and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) presents significant biosecurity challenges in the region.
“Australia has been providing support to our nearest neighbours and close trading partners—like Indonesia—as they work to curb spread of these diseases,” Dr Cookson said.
The work happening in Indonesia now is essential to reducing the impact of diseases throughout the region These vaccines not only assist Indonesia to manage the outbreak, but they also help reduce the risk of LSD further spreading.
“We have a very close working relationship with Indonesia to provide support for their emergency animal disease control efforts and we will continue to have ongoing engagement with technical support and a range of other programs scheduled for the year,” she said.
With LSD detected in 15 provinces across Indonesia, Dr Nuryani said it is essential for all levels of Indonesian government and partners like Australia to be working together to combat the disease.
“I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the government of Australia for their generous donation of vaccines to aid us in our fight against lumpy skin disease. Through our unified efforts, we can pave the way for a resilient and prosperous livestock industry, ensuring food security and prosperity for our nation,” said Dr Nuryani.
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