Dept of Primary industries and Regional Development

Update on emergency animal diseases

27 July 2022

Foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease update

Dear industry stakeholder,

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) are exotic to Australia and an incursion of either virus into Australia could be devastating to our livestock and associated industries through international trade losses, market disruptions, animal health impacts and production losses.

Dr Bruce Mullan has been appointed to the role of DPIRD FMD and LSD Preparedness Coordinator. As well as coordinating DPIRD’s preparedness, Bruce will provide a focal point for industry consultation and feedback across the supply chain.

Situation update 27 July 2022

Detection of virus fragments in imported pork product

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) recently conducted a purchasing and testing campaign of food for sale in supermarkets around Australia. One sample tested positive for FMD and African swine fever (ASF) viral fragments.

It’s important to note this does not mean there has been a disease incursion in Australia.

The sample was from pork floss offered for sale in Melbourne. Pork floss is a processed, dried meat product that can be imported if it meets strict import conditions. Whilst the product was processed, investigations have not found evidence that the treatment met Australia’s import requirements.

DAFF biosecurity officers have seized the product from all linked supermarkets and a warehouse in Melbourne. A national recall notice was also issued, requesting all packets not yet consumed be returned to DAFF. Information for consumers on how to return the product is available at agriculture.gov.au.

Separate to this, a passenger from Indonesia was recently intercepted with a beef product that contained FMD virus fragments. While this shows the biosecurity system is effective, DAFF continues with its efforts to prevent an incursion, including testing meat products seized at the border from travellers and through the mail.

For more information: Biosecurity vigilance brought to the fore (DAFF website)

Update on national response activities

Following official confirmation from Indonesian authorities that FMD had spread to Bali, new border measures were immediately imposed to protect Australia from an FMD incursion due to the high number of people who travel between Bali and Australia.

Measures the Commonwealth has implemented include:

Brochures provided to outbound passengers at check-in.
Signage highlighting FMD risk, displaying what not to bring back.
Signage at Indonesian Airports alerting to FMD risks.
Biosecurity officers meeting all arrivals from Bali and reading message regarding FMD risk, penalties for non-compliance and advising of disinfecting foot mats.
Brochures distributed to all passengers getting off Indonesian flights.
Disinfecting foot mats in place for all passengers arriving from Indonesia to walk through.
Signage in arrivals concourse, immigration clearance area and in the baggage reclaim alerting to FMD risks and what needs to be declared.
Additional resources deployed to interact with more passengers around the baggage reclaim.
Increase in detector dog usage, with priority for Indonesian flight arrivals.

The Australian Government is exploring all practical measures that can be taken at the border to reduce the risk of FMD entering the country and will implement evidence-based measures on a case-by-case basis.

A commitment of $14 million has been made by the Australian Government in immediate funding to manage the increased threat of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease, in addition to $1.5 million to supply vaccines in Indonesia and $500,000 to support industry-led assistance through Meat and Livestock Australia.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has reviewed import permits for products from Indonesia that may carry FMD and suspended those of concern. It has also advised livestock industries to be alert, raised awareness at the border, provided advice to state and territory governments and liaised with Indonesian counterparts.

DPIRD response and preparedness activities

The Western Australian Government invests significantly in biosecurity which was boosted by $15.1 million in 2021-22 to build on DPIRD's capability and capacity to respond to biosecurity threats. We are strengthening our emergency animal disease preparedness in relation to these diseases. This has included:

Enhancing disease awareness and early disease detection activities for livestock stakeholders for both FMD and LSD.
Enhancing diagnostic capability for FMD and LSD at a State level.
Ensuring traceability arrangements of all susceptible species meet national performance standards.
Participating in the national AUSVETPLAN review for lumpy skin disease and foot-and-mouth disease. Industry and government spent three days last week reviewing and refining both response manuals with significant updates to both manuals.
Enhancing our response capability and capacity in both DPIRD and stakeholder organisations.

We also continue to share information in the following ways:

An online Emergency Animal Disease Hub with up-to-date resources.
Regular email updates, those not already receiving them can register here.
Social media updates, via DPIRD’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Upcoming events

We're engaging closely with veterinarians and running workshops for rural veterinarians on emergency diseases including LSD and FMD. This is part of an annual veterinary update to regional vets on emerging exotic disease threats. Workshops are scheduled for Northam, Geraldton, Albany (with WA Veterinary Association) and Bunbury. Workshops have been held earlier in the year in the north of Australia.

We will be convening a webinar to present further on FMD and LSD prevention and preparedness and running several forums in the coming weeks, with the locations, dates and agenda to follow.

Details of DPIRD-led events will be included on the Emergency Animal Disease Hub - foot-and-mouth and lumpy skin diseases webpage. Updates on future events will be provided via this email channel, those not already receiving updates can register here.

Further information

Please click the links below to access further information:

Resources from DPIRD:

Emergency Animal Disease Hub - foot-and-mouth and lumpy skin diseases - view
Foot-and-mouth disease - prevention and preparedness - view
Lumpy skin disease: prevention and preparedness - view
Livestock ownership, identification and movement in WA - view
Regular updates via email - if not already receiving this email - register here

Other government resources:

Engagement Hub - Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, QLD - view
FMD National Outlook - Australian Government - view
Lumpy Skin Disease - Australian Government - view

Yours sincerely,

Dr Bruce Mullan
FMD and LSD Preparedness Coordinator
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Dr Michelle Rodan
Chief Veterinary Officer
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Important disclaimer

The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.