Prime Movers sector report: Biosecurity

By LIAM DANN

Hugh Davies doesn't need reminding how serious his job is.

The man in charge of co-ordinating New Zealand's response to outbreaks of animal disease - such as the dreaded foot and mouth - has seen the devastation it can cause first hand.

In 2001 at the height of Britain's foot and mouth outbreak, he was stationed in London with the British Government's response team.

It was an unbeatable learning experience for Davies - general manager at MAF's National Centre for Disease Investigation - and not one he hopes to repeat.

British farmers were forced to undertake an animal cull of horrendous proportions.

Nearly five million sheep, 764,000 cattle, 428,000 pigs and 7500 goats were killed. The carcasses burned on huge funeral pyres that bathed the countryside in an apocalyptic glow.

"It was shattering for the farmers," Davies says. "Their livelihood, their herds and flocks that they'd built up over a lifetime were destroyed and they had no idea what the future held."

Davies spent just one day visiting farms, although his veterinary staff were more closely involved in the containment operations.

"I didn't see panic," he said. "But there was despair among the farming community. I was visiting an area where some flocks and herds had already been destroyed and the neighbours were expecting that in due course they would lose their livelihood as well."

By the time the outbreak had run its course the costs had reached the multibillions.

Compensation for stock alone cost the British Government about $6 billion.

With the countryside off limits, the cost to the tourism industry was estimated to be $15 billion in the first year alone.

But British farmers with their large domestic market and European Union subsidies were not badly crippled by export bans as New Zealand farmers would be.

New Zealand farmers must stay vigilant, Davies says.

In Britain, the virus spread to 57 farms in 16 counties before it was detected, making its impact far worse than it might have been.

While the British crisis was in full swing it generated a lot of publicity about the disease in New Zealand, Davies says.

His team investigated about 40 suspected cases that year. That number has dropped to a historical norm of about 20 a year, he says.

"Obviously none of those were real."

But while he hopes he will never get a call that leads to a confirmed case, Davies would rather be busy. It's a sign that farmers are not taking any chances.

"We encourage them to report. It may be a case of talking it through with them and ruling them out over the phone, or we may have to send someone to see them."

If a suspected case can't be ruled out over the phone, a vet will be on the road to visit the farmer within 30 minutes.

MAF has a team of vets throughout the country contracted to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Davies says.

Of the 20 or so cases that warrant a visit each year, about half end up in the laboratory for additional testing.

These are the ones that can sometimes be a cause for concern.

Red alert would be too strong a term to describe them, Davies says. "Maybe orange alert."

Even though the cases have always been negative, the New Zealand economy is so vulnerable to the disease that just a rumoured case can spark a panic in financial markets.

"We did have one case where what appeared to be blister on a cattlebeast was seen at a freezing works and that caused the dollar to drop," he says. "Word got out before we had anyone on the premises to look. That turned out to be just a scratch."

More recently, in August, the dollar dived 1c on the back of European rumours that New Zealand had a foot and mouth outbreak.

In that case it appears there was no basis for the rumour, and it may even have been malicious.

There needs to be a balance between making sure the information gets to the right people and keeping a lid on the potential panic it can cause, Davies says.

"People need to behave maturely and not start reporting rumours to their neighbours and saying MAF's coming out."

From a practical point of view, the last thing you'd want if it was real would be people rubbernecking and possibly taking the virus off the land with them, he says.

If an outbreak was confirmed, all the animals on the farm would immediately be slaughtered.

After that, inspections would be made of neighbouring properties, and movements of all stock and vehicles from the property for at least the past two weeks would be traced.

A control area of at least a 10km radius would be placed around the farm and stock and goods movements throughout the region would be stopped.

Community and sporting events in the surrounding countryside would be cancelled.

Although agricultural exports would be stopped, people could continue to arrive and depart from New Zealand.

Davies believes New Zealand would be able to handle some aspects of the control process better than the British.

New Zealand has shorter communication channels because of the simple national structure, he says.

That would speed up the rate at which action could be taken.

He also believes our "can do" attitude would make a big difference.

British organisations are more hierarchical, so the decision-making process is slower.

"In New Zealand we would have a greater expectation of the guys on the frontline to be making decisions."

New Zealand has also increased the country's resources and capability as a result of what we learned in Britain, Davies says.

"The Government has invested a lot in the last year, and more this year, to enhance specifically the foot and mouth capability."

In this year's budget an additional $2.46 million was allocated over four years for aircraft, passenger and mail inspection.

Another $2.3 million in the next financial year, rising to $2.5 million for the two following years, was allocated for responding to exotic diseases, specifically foot and mouth.

Last month the Cabinet approved a further $3.5 million to implement a new biotechnology strategy which, among other things, will ensure that every container that enters the country is screened for pests and undesirable organic matter.

Ultimately, everybody must play their part to keep diseases like foot and mouth out of the country, Davies says.

The most important thing is for people to declare everything they have when returning from overseas.

That could be anything from a pair of dirty tramping boots to food scraps.

"The worst offenders when it comes to bringing things across the borders are New Zealanders," he says. "That's a bit scary."

Foot and Mouth: What to Look For

* The sudden onset of lameness in sheep or cattle.

* Animals drooling or off their food.

* Anything that looks like a blister.

* If you have any concerns, don't hesitate to call the MAF hotline: 0800 809966. Most suspected cases are ruled out over the phone.