Determination of risk factors for foot and mouth disease emergence in East Java, Indonesia

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious disease, affecting animals with divided hooves. FMD has seen significant outbreaks in East Java, Indonesia, highlighting the urgent need to understand the risk factors contributing to its emergence in this region. FMD spreads easily across borders and leads to significant economic losses due to illness, death, and trade limitations.

The current study aimed to identify risk variables connected to the FMD outbreak in East Java.

We conducted risk factor investigations for FMD in seven districts of East Java province, in collaboration with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Airlangga University and the Department of Livestock, East Java. A case-control study of 76 (case = 53, control = 23) livestock farms with a case-control ratio of approximately 2:1 was conducted in East Java, Indonesia. Data on multiple possibly correlated parameters were collected using a standardized questionnaire.

Univariate analysis of the current study showed that five risk factors (the presence of animals other than cattle, visits of the veterinarian, calf sections, mixing young calves with other animal species, and regular disinfection) were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the occurrence of FMD. Multiple logistic regression showed that visiting veterinary doctors (odds ratio [OR] = 0.08, 95% CI = 0.01-0.52, p = 0.008), regular disinfection (OR = 3.98, 95% CI = 1.06-14.93, p = 0.04), and sharing equipment between healthy and infected farms (OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 0.95-12.1, p = 0.04) were significantly associated with the FMD outbreak in the vicinity in 2022.

Strengthening biosecurity protocols, limiting admissions of animals lacking documented vaccination records, and ensuring routine vaccination against FMD are all effective countermeasures to significantly reduce and alleviate the prevalence of FMD on Indonesian livestock farms.