Since January this year, more than 100 cattle have died in the Kerom Region of Papua, as a result of severe diarrhea caused by a viral infection that also affects sheep, goats and pigs.
Papuan cattle were probably infected with a pestivirus, also known as cattle viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), which, in addition to severe diarrhea, leads to respiratory illnesses, terminates pregnancy in pregnant women and inhibits the growth of young animals.
According to Ronal Kapis, an official in the livestock department of the Keenom Agricultural Agency, infected cattle in Papua were six to 24 months old, and pestivirus killed up to 30 percent of the herd.
“According to the data we’ve collected, more than 100 cattle have been killed in the last three months,” he told the Jakarta Post on Tuesday, April 9. He said his office sent specimens of dead cattle to the laboratory of the Animal Health Center in Maros, South Sulawesi, for research. Results confirmed symptoms.
However, the official said, his office is still waiting for solid evidence of the results of the examination in order to confirm the disease affecting cattle and decide on further actions.
