MPI’s disease work praised
Federated Farmers has given government officials grappling with the cow disease Mycoplasma bovis a pat on the back for their efforts in dealing with the issue.
Biosecurity spokesman Guy Wigley said farmers who met in Waimate this month to hear the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) latest update were impressed by the scope of what was being done.
‘‘They are getting a huge number of tests done over the next month - 33,000. Farmers were impressed with the professionalism of the staff.’’
Wigley said MPI had been on the back foot when the disease had first been detected in mid July and had been greeted by angry farmers at a meeting.
‘‘You have to give them credit for fronting up at the first meeting when so little was known about the disease.’’
About 100 people turned out at the latest meeting to hear the surveillance and testing regime and timelines, and the actions farmers could take to protect their farms. Wigley said it was positive the disease was still restricted to two South Canterbury properties owned by Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen, so there was hope it could be contained.
M. bovis is highly contagious within herds but not from farm to farm through airborne means. It is found in all of the world’s dairy countries, does not infect humans and presents no food safety risk. There is no concern about consuming milk and milk products. The disease causes untreatable mastitis in dairy and beef cows, pneumonia in up to 30 per cent of infected calves, ear infections in calves, abortions and swollen joints and lameness.
Officials estimated it could take 12-13 weeks to complete the testing because of the complexity of the process, with tests having to be taken three or more times.
A new type of test called ELISA was being introduced to speed the process up, but it was being applied only to higher risk, more urgent testing as there was an international shortage of the M. bovis test kits.
Meanwhile, former Federated Farmers president Dr William Rolleston said the matter of how the disease arrived had not been properly addressed.
‘‘Semen still remains a potential pathway which should not be discounted. MPI are looking at other risk goods but we have not been presented with any other likely or plausible pathway.’’
MPI needed to follow up on semen from donor bulls which had gone to other parts of the country so at least those farmers and their vets were aware that there may be an increased risk. Rolleston said it was encouraging that at the latest meeting semen was listed under a possible pathway.
In a letter dated August 1, 2015, MPI’s director investigation and diagnostic centres and response, Veronica Herrera, wrote to exporters and other interested parties listing 68 animal diseases absent from New Zealand.
Among them were diseases such as foot and mouth and mad cow disease. However M. bovis was absent. Herrera said the absence of M. bovis in the letter did not ‘‘bear any relation to MPI’s preparedness for the event or its detection’’. She said MPI had an effective, well structured and rehearsed response to biosecurity incursions which was working well in the case of M. bovis.