UNAIR NEWS “ ‘s Postgraduate School recently held a guest lecture titled “Strategic Leadership: The Strategic Role of Pusvetma in Supporting Food Security” on Saturday, February 17, 2024. This event was conducted in a hybrid format through live streaming on YouTube and onsite in the Majapahit Room of the ASEEC Tower, UNAIR, featuring Drh Edy Budi Susila Msi, the Head of BBVF Pusvetma.Ìý
The Role of the Veterinary Pharma Center (Pusvetma)Ìý
As an entity under the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, Pusvetma has been established as a public service agency known as the Pusvetma Veterinary Pharma Center. Its primary goals and functions encompass the preparation of raw materials, production, testing, marketing, and distribution. Furthermore, Pusvetma is dedicated to enhancing the quality of veterinary drug surveillance, conducting diagnoses, performing reference tests, and controlling Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).Ìý
“Based on Ministerial Regulation No. 12 of 2023, the Pusvetma Veterinary Pharma Center, or Pusvetma, was established,” Drh Edy explained.
Pusvetma encompasses several facilities, including buildings dedicated to vaccine production for poultry, mammals, rabies, live vaccines, foot and mouth disease vaccines, antigens, and diagnostic kits. Additionally, there are various facilities such as quality testing laboratories, product development laboratories, disease control laboratories, antiserum laboratories, animal testing facilities (ABSL-2), experimental animal quarantine facilities, experimental animal cage installations, incinerators, wastewater treatment facilities, and primary clinics.Ìý
Foot and Mouth Disease
The Pusvetma Veterinary Pharma Center, or BBVF Pusvetma, is a Technical Implementation Unit of the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health. In this session, Drh Edy, as the Head of Pusvetma, outlined the role of Pusvetma in addressing foot and mouth disease (FMD), which is endemic in several countries.
Previously, Indonesia has conducted a progressive FMD eradication program for 34 years and achieved eradication in 1986. After being FMD-free for 32 years, FMD re-entered Indonesia in 2022, spreading rapidly to 62 regencies and cities. Consequently, it was declared an epidemic causing significant economic losses.
“The FMD epidemic exerts negative pressure on national economic growth, reduces real wages and consumption, and increases the trade balance deficit,” he went on.
Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)Ìý
This epidemic also leads to increased prices of beef and fresh milk, as well as other related sectors. From a regional perspective, provinces that are major producers of meat and milk products are expected to suffer greater economic losses compared to others. Meanwhile, at the household level, the FMD epidemic significantly reduces income and consumption, especially for farming households in rural areas.
“If we look at the global impact of FMD, it is related to consumption patterns of animals like dairy cows, which can be very detrimental,” said Drh Edy.
Prevention of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)Ìý
Almost all animal vaccines are produced by Pusvetma. One of Pusvetma’s efforts in addressing FMD issues, according to him, is by producing vaccines for foot and mouth disease. The production of FMD vaccines by Pusvetma utilizes BSL2+ facilities based on tissue culture production methods with the BHK-21 cell line because FMD vaccines are tissue culture-based.Ìý
These vaccines employ flask, roller bottle, cell factory, and cell stack technologies. They have also been certified CPOHB/GMP with the addition of several production equipment and materials.Ìý
“The production capacity of these vaccines until the end of 2023 is 1 to 2 million doses,” stated the Head of Pusvetma.
Author: Lady Khairunnisa Adiyani
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
