Listen: Has M. bovis been in New Zealand for a decade?

Professor Keith Woodford. Photo / Supplied

A recent article written by Professor Keith Woodford suggests that it will be difficult to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis, as the cattle disease has been in New Zealand for much longer than originally thought.

Professor Woodford, an honorary professor of Agri-food Systems at Lincoln University, spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay, saying he has evidence - but not proof - that M. bovis may have been here since 2008.

"The 2008 example is where some animals went from one part of the South Island to another part of the South Island, and then had huge mastitis problems ... and those animals had to be culled. They also had some very severe lameness issues."

"Talking to the people who were involved ... it just sounds very, very much like Mycoplasma bovis."

Woodford says the animals affected then went to a third part of the South Island, "what I'm saying is, that there's enough evidence there that MPI need to be putting a lot of effort into tracking it down."

Although this is only one example, Woodford says he has since been contacted by "a lot of people," who say they believe they have seen the disease before.

If Mycoplasma bovis has been here for 10 years it is a good news, bad news situation says Woodford. Good news, because it means that farmers have been managing the disease "in the same way farmers overseas manage it," and bad news, as it "really says that eradication may not be feasible."

The Ministry for Primary Industries says the Zeestraten farms are "ground zero" for Mycoplasma bovis and is not looking further back than 2015. Woodford does not believe Zeestraten is the original source, and thinks MPI should go further into the past and investigate.

"Whether it was here in 2008, I don't know, but it's a realistic chance and it needs to be investigated ... the problem for MPI is that they're so overwhelmed with putting the systems in place, that they just can't get around and do all the testing and tracing that they would like to do."

Eradicating Mycoplasma bovis is a difficult task and Woodford has sympathy for MPI.

"This is no one's fault. It's just such a difficult organism to track down, that the testing takes months and months and months."

Listen below: