FE spore count high
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is not sure how the cattle disease wreaking havoc in the dairy industry got to New Zealand and it is not sure it will ever know.
It is checking seven ways it believed the Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) disease may have got to this country.
It has carried out searches on three locations as it tries to pinpoint how the disease entered the country.
Warranted officers from MPI’S Compliance Investigations team ran simultaneous searches at three locations in both islands as part of an investigation.
Compliance investigations manager Gary Orr said the searches related to potential breaches of legislation related to the M. Bovis response.
‘‘We are looking at imported live cattle, imported frozen semen, imported embryos, imported veterinary medicines and biological products, imported feed, imported used farm equipment and other imported live animals,’’ MPI said on its website.
‘‘It is possible that we never be able to identify the entry pathway. MPI is tracing movements of possible risk goods onto the affected properties as part of this investigation.’’
Farmers say they are worried that MPI is going ahead with the the cull with no knowledge yet of how the disease got to New Zealand.
This meant it could come into the country again, they said.
MPI said it continued to allow semen and embryos into New Zealand.
‘‘Farmers can continue to make their own decisions around the use of artificial insemination (AI). AI providers have developed biosecurity protocols for use following the outbreak.’’
It said semen has been imported for many years at the rate of around 250,000 straws each season.
‘‘If semen was a significant risk factor, we could expect to see a lot more disease than we are.’’
Semen is treated with antibiotics.
Manawatu¯ /Rangitı¯kei Federated Farmers dairy chairman Murray Holdaway said, while he was concerned no pathway had been found for the disease, he was in favour of the cull for to get rid of M. bovis.
‘‘This is the only chance we will get of eradication and with gypsy day looming there was no option to delay.
‘‘It will be hard for the farmers concerned to see their herds, some with generations of breeding behind them, being culled, but I think the biggest shock for the farmers concerned was probably when the disease was confirmed in their herds.’’
He said the decision to send more than 22,000 dairy cattle to the meat plants was at least giving some certainty for the farmers for the future.
‘‘In terms of the industry effects, there appears to be surplus cows for sale this year with very few buyers, and with what I consider to be a downsizing industry and many farmers planning on milking a few less cows because of the environmental pressures and the likely effects of the palm kernel penalties, there should be enough cows to fill the demand even with the cull.
‘‘Farmers will probably have a more ‘closed’ operation where less grazing out will be done, less purchasing of stock including bulls for mating, and possibly less imported feed in order to reduce the risk of this or any other disease.’’ The facial eczema (FE) spore counts remain persistently high in parts of Manawatu¯ .
The spores cause a disease in cattle, deer goats and sheep and are responsible for damage to the liver. FE can cause sunlight avoidance and severe skin irritation that can result in peeling skin. In severe cases it can lead to death.
Sheep are most susceptible followed by dairy cattle, beef cattle, and red deer.
Animals get FE after eating large numbers of fungal spores and this leads to meat and milk production loses, estimated at $200 million a year, as well as decreased fertility.
Vets say there is no cure, only preventative zinc-based products that help animals ward off the disease.
Dairy veterinarian Lisa Norris said it was also important to note that facial eczema could sometimes be a silent threat.
‘‘Liver damage can build up over time and just because farmers don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening,’’ she said.
‘‘The long term consumption of low levels of spores can potentially be just as harmful as a single large dose.’’
Stein said the risk remained high .
Last week, Okuku South’s count went up from 190,000 to 235,000. Linton went down from 160,000 to 70,000 but that count is still high.
‘‘Also we have had a one-off count from a non-sentinel farm in Bunnythorpe of 205,000 where animals were showing clinical signs,’’ she said
Readings across the region show that spores are still at levels above 40,000, when farmers are told to take preventative measures for their stock.
Farmers are hoping cooler autumn nights and days will knock FE spores in the coming few weeks.