Australian Government promises Indonesia one million lumpy skin disease vaccines
Australia will provide Indonesia with another one million doses of lumpy skin disease vaccine this year, and $1m to boost testing capability for exotic diseases including foot-and-mouth.
An initial 500,000 vaccine doses will be delivered in coming months “to meet Indonesia’s immediate need” with more to follow throughout the year, Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said.
Senator Watt made the announcement in Darwin on March 17, describing both diseases as “the most significant threats to Australia’s biosecurity integrity in decades”.
“Australia remains free from both FMD and LSD, but it is critical we continue support our close neighbours to prevent or respond effectively to these diseases which can have a devastating effect on their food security and economic wellbeing,” he said.
“Our strong partnerships with countries such as Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste is helping us to continue to safeguard our agriculture sector and the industries on which it relies.”
It comes after Australia last year gave Indonesia 435,000 LSD vaccine doses and four million FMD vaccine doses at a cost of more than $6m.
While FMD has received much of the spotlight, Senator Watt said LSD remained a major threat to Australia’s livestock industries and economy.
“These vaccines will provide important support to Indonesia as it works to curb the spread of the disease — work that is essential to reduce the impact of the disease in Indonesia as well as the risk of LSD entering Australia,” he said.
In the latest South East Asian Beef Market Report, released March 16, author and Singapore-based Australian veterinarian Michael Patching said LSD and FMD were continuing to spread throughout Indonesia.
Dr Patching said there were “ongoing unofficial reports” both diseases were moving between islands in the archipelago nation.
“LSD infections appear to remain under-reported given the anecdotal information I have from several sources on the ground, especially in Central Java and Yogyakarta where there are many new infections of local cattle,” he wrote.
“There remain some vaccine supply and distribution issues, especially related to smallholders and LSD.”
The $1m Federal grant will enable CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness to work with Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture to enhance its laboratory capability for disease diagnostics.
The funding will help build laboratory proficiency testing systems in Indonesia for FMD and LSD, allowing the country’s Disease Investigation Centre network to test the quality of its diagnostics and identify areas to strengthen capability.
The CSIRO will also work with Indonesian laboratories to produce control materials that can be safely distributed throughout the Indonesian network, ensuring “accuracy and consistency” of diagnostic testing.
CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness played a critical role in building the nation’s resilience against biosecurity threats.
“As the national science agency, CSIRO’s national labs support team Australia as part of a regional network to help both Australia and neighbouring partners like Indonesia to respond to these threats through accurate identification and detection in real time,” Dr Marshall said.
“There is no better way to tackle global threats than through global collaboration — by helping strengthen the biosecurity of our Indo-Pacific neighbours, and in turn bolstering Australia’s own protection against the most pressing animal disease threats to our nation.”
The Albanese Government set aside $134m of biosecurity funding in the 2022-23 budget to bolster Australia’s response to exotic diseases after outbreaks of FMD and LSD in Indonesia early last year.
Both diseases are highly contagious and, if detected in Australia, could shut down export markets overnight, devastating the nation’s livestock industries and costing the economy billions of dollars.
LSD is spread by biting insects and via the movement of infected animals and contaminated equipment.
FMD can be transmitted in air particles between animals housed closely together and through contaminated feed and water, vehicles, equipment, clothing and footwear.
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