Building resilience to emerging infectious diseases through One Health
Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta. In 2017, Purwosari Village of Kulon Progo regency in Yogyakarta was struck by Anthrax, a fatal infectious zoonotic disease, which can also be transmitted from animals to humans, by inhaling Anthrax spores, eating contaminated meat, or coming into close contact with an infected animal through an open wound. The symptoms could be various, from skin rashes with dark scabs, fever, or indigestion to difficulty in breathing.
Purwosari had reported 13 goats and one cow to die, and it was suspected that 16 people had contracted Anthrax.
This outbreak was a wounding experience for Sri Nawati, a 34-year-old farmer infected by Anthrax. “My skin suddenly became red and itchy, however I assumed it was just a common illness”, shared Sri.
After people realized that she had Anthrax, she was ostracized, despite assurances that anthrax is not transmitted from human to human. “It caused quite a stir and even received media attention. Neighboring villages did not want to buy livestock or vegetables from us. They called our village the Anthrax Village”, added Sri. Sri herself lost about 80% of her livestock sales due to this situation, and this incident caused quite an economic loss for other residents of Purwosari.
Fortunately, thanks to the rapid response of the local health authority in containing the disease, her suffering did not last long. Sri revealed that when livestock around Purwosari were reported dead, authorities from the animal husbandry department mobilized their teams to take blood samples for further research, disinfected the surrounding, and vaccinated all livestock.
Furthermore, the department also partnered with local health officers to educate the village residents about Anthrax. “I am grateful to the local officials for their rapid and timely response in containing the disease. I hope that an outbreak like this will never occur again in the village”, said Sri.
Suwaryono, a 60-year-old cattle farmer, shares, “The government managed to handle the situation quickly and we got our livestock vaccinated immediately”, said Suwaryono. “The animals are now healthy and safe. Villagers are also aware of the actions to take if there are signs of such illness", added Suwaryono.
Capacity Building for One Health Anthrax Response Collaboration
Response to the Anthrax outbreak was successful as the animal husbandry department officials could apply the knowledge they had gained from capacity building initiatives carried out by the MoA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Back in 2006, as a response to the Avian Influenza outbreak, the partnership had initiated Participatory Disease Surveillance and Response (PDSR) to enhance zoonoses responses in backyard poultry farms. In 2016, an outbreak investigation training was conducted to prevent the transmission from animals to humans and vice versa while improving the preparedness and response capacity of the personnel at Animal Health Centers in handling such outbreaks. These training not only yielded a rapid response to the Anthrax outbreak in 2017 but also assisted the local health officials in engaging the communities to collect data for a better response.
Purwosari Village is an example of a successful One Health response to zoonoses. "The Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health Service, together with FAO, USAID, and the local governments, are trying to prevent and control infectious animal diseases, including Anthrax", said Makmun, Secretary of the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture. Since Anthrax was first discovered in Kulon Progo Regency in Yogyakarta, the government has been continuously taking collaborative steps to prevent and control Anthrax and other infectious animal diseases in this area.
The advancement of capacity building of local officers has been one of the key joint interventions of MoA and FAO programmes since 2006 in Indonesia. With the support of USAID, the programme has been continuously working to strengthen the country's capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to all public health threats. "The United States, through USAID, appreciates the longstanding partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO in strengthening health security from the national to the local level", said Jeff Cohen, USAID Indonesia Mission Director. "I am also pleased to observe the active engagement of communities in the protection of public health from zoonotic diseases and emerging infectious diseases", stated Jeff.
Safeguarding human and animal health in Yogyakarta through Global Health Security Programme
On 23 and 24 May 2023, the Mission Director of USAID Indonesia, visited Yogyakarta with the FAO Representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste and the Ministry of Agriculture, to witness the impact of the Global Health Security Programme (GHSP) programme in improving public health, fostering public-private partnerships, and establishing the foundation for sustainable capacity enhancement. The group also visited the Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) in Wates and a commercial poultry farm in Sleman district.
“This collaboration, which has been established for the last 17 years, has supported Indonesia in becoming a country that leads the zoonoses prevention programme and actively contributes to disease control, enhancement of antimicrobial resistance, and multisectoral cooperation,” stated Makmun.
"FAO hopes this visit would further strengthen our commitment to sustain the impactful collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, USAID and the relevant stakeholders to further hone Indonesia's zoonotic and infectious disease detection, preparedness, and response capacity", said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste. “FAO will continue to work closely with the Government of Indonesia to strengthen the country’s animal health systems through One Health approach”, added Aryal.
"Implementation of 3-zone biosecurity learnt from FAO has brought many benefits to my farm. On one hand my chickens are better protected from infectious disease, and the egg production has also increased on the other. Our farm is also among the first ones in Yogyakarta to get the NKV certificate. Hopefully, other farms can also undertake similar initiatives to ensure their egg products are NKV certified and earn better profits”, said Yudi, Head of the Association of Layer Farms (PINSAR Petelur Nasional) and the farm owner, whose farm was visited by the USAID Mission Director." NKV (Nomor Kontrol Veteriner) or Veterinary Control Number is a government certificate that guarantees the safety of livestock products for public consumption and recommends good healthy products to prevent stunting.
During this visit, all relevant stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to scale up these success stories to other areas in Indonesia so that the country becomes more proficient at safeguarding human and animal health and is better prepared for potential future pandemics.