Australian Government ramps up foot-and-mouth disease biosecurity measures at airports

“Biosecurity response zones” have been established at all of Australia’s international airports, with arriving travellers now being screened more thoroughly in a bid to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease from Indonesia. The move, authorised by Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt on July 22, forms part of what the Queensland Senator labelled “the strongest biosecurity response in Australia’s history”. It is the first time the Biosecurity Act powers have been used in Australia. “I had been concerned about some rare reports that some return travellers were not doing the right thing when returning from Indonesia,” Senator Watt said in a statement. “These zones strengthen and widen the powers of biosecurity officers to direct passengers to use foot mats and other biosecurity control measures such as the cleaning of shoes.” It follows the announcement last week of a $14 million Federal funding package to tackle the threat of FMD at home and aid Indonesia with its response program. The package will provide a million vaccines for the Indonesian cattle industry and boost measures in Australia to increase detection. Senator Watt said the foot mats had arrived at airports and were being installed as quickly as possible, though they were not expected to be up and running at Perth Airport until early this week. He told Sky News they were heavy duty to withstand hundreds of people walking over them each day, sprayed with citric acid, and had to be ordered from overseas. “That’s not the kind of thing you can get at Bunnings or your local hardware (store),” Senator Watt said. Perth Airport said some of the mats had been delivered late last Friday but would not be in place, in a single aerobridge that all Bali arrivals would be funnelled through, until Monday or Tuesday this week. This prompted criticism from WA’s Liberal Member for the Agricultural Region Steve Martin, who cited the need for “urgency from the Minister and his department”. “Surely something can be sourced in Australia to do the job, even if it’s only for a few days,” Mr Martin said. “The message is that FMD is more likely to arrive in processed meat than on tourist’s feet, but why take a chance? “Any delay is a risk that our livestock sector and regional communities don’t need.” On Monday, Mr Watt released another statement saying biosecurity officers at Australia’s international airports had reported improved compliance from travellers returning from Indonesia. He said nearly 3700 travellers were more intensively assessed by biosecurity officers in Melbourne Airport on Saturday alone, with rates of undeclared FMD risk items and contaminated footwear “drastically down compared with last week”. All mail from Indonesia and China was also being screened for meat products, after viral fragments of FMD were detected in a single sample of pork floss being sold at a Melbourne retailer. “As we have said all along, we believe the greater risk of FMD getting into Australia is via incorrectly or illegally labelled meat products from overseas,” Mr Watt said. “We have now increased our surveillance of mail from Indonesia and China so that every parcel is screened and so we can identify any potential biosecurity risks. “All up, our new measures mean we have the strongest response to a biosecurity threat in Australian history. “We will continue to put more measures in place, in line with expert biosecurity advice, to keep this disease out.” Australia’s chief veterinary officer Mark Schipp said he was “quite confident” authorities could keep the disease from entering the country. “Many countries in our region have foot and mouth disease, and we’ve been dealing with that for decades,” he told the Nine Network. “We knew that once it entered Indonesia it would get into Bali and spread further, and we ramped up our biosecurity efforts in response to that.” Henry Annandale, principal of Murdoch University’s school of veterinary medicine, said Australia’s biosecurity efforts were generally among the world’s best. “I think the message has been well communicated and Australians are aware of what the impact would be on the agricultural sector if this came out,” Dr Annandale said. “I guess we have to trust our fellow citizens to do the right thing. “The man on the street should be aware of these things because they impact what’s in our fridge. “We need to play an active part in doing this. Government can’t do it on their own.” The university recommends travellers wash and scrub their shoes and clothes with hot soapy water, or preferably disinfectant, before boarding a flight. Research has found that under certain conditions, the virus can remain infective for 11 weeks on boot leather and 13 weeks on rubber boots. FMD affects all cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.