August 12, 2020

 

New Zealand's Southland cleared of M. bovis cattle infection

 

 

Southland was considered the origin of New Zealand's Mycoplasma bovis outbreak in 2017, but today, the country's southernmost region, is infection free, Stuff reported.

 

Ministry of Primary Industries regional recovery manager Richard McPhail praised the farming community for their co-operation as he shared the news on Friday that there are no longer any active properties, or properties under a Notice of Direction, in Southland.

 

"There's been a lot of heavy lifting done to get to this point," he said.

 

But there was still work to be done, McPhail said. "There's an expectation that more infection will be found, [albeit] not necessarily in our area."

 

The contagious cattle disease M. bovis was first traced back to Southland in December 2017, after it was detected on a Canterbury farm five months prior.

 

Although commonplace overseas, it was the first time it had appeared in New Zealand.

 

Weighing up the inevitable cost of the disease versus eradicating it from the national herd, the Government partnered with industry bodies Beef and Lamb New Zealand and DairyNZ to launch the world-first M. bovis eradication programme in May 2018.

 

"The indication is that there's very little M. zbovis infection left in the national herd," McPhail said.

 

MPI's latest figures show there were only three remaining active confirmed properties in the country.

 

As of July 29, NZD168 million had been paid as compensation to farmers nationally.

 

Results from last month's bulk milk testing on five suspected farms have come back negative, a ministry update says.

 

The last Southland farm to have its Notice of Direction lifted was placed under restrictions after infection was picked up through bulk milk testing last season, McPhail said.

 

The property, in central Southland, had to be disinfected before the herd could be repopulated, he said.

 

Pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic, McPhail said the outbreak had shown the devastation a viral outbreak could cause.

 

"With the landscape we're looking at at the moment, our biosecurity is so important," he said. "Eradication would be such an achievement for our country."

 

He urged farmers to make sure all animals were tagged and recorded on the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) system to ensure they could be traced throughout their lifetime.

 

The tool was used much like COVID-19 contact tracing, he said, to find livestock that might be carrying the infection. This made it easier for MPI to clear farms faster, he said.

 

McPhail pointed farmers with questions about NAIT to the Beef and Lamb New Zealand and DairyNZ websites.

 

"Just go online, there are plenty of resources," he said.

 

A Waikato farmer was fined NZD3900 on Wednesday for not registering 152 cattle under the NAIT Scheme.

 

Although he had not prosecuted anyone in Southland for failure to comply, McPhail had reported compliance issues to MPI and NAIT, who oversaw compliance.

 

As a member of the rural community, McPhail said he was pleased that the last notice of direction had been lifted.

 

Along with commendations for farmers, he said his staff has also been working hard behind the scenes to get here. The relationships they had built within the community were important for cementing biosecurity awareness in the region.

 

Long term surveillance, in the form of bulk milk testing and sampling at beef processing plants, would continue as surety that M.bovis was well and truly gone, McPhail said.

 

MPI was currently reviewing its regional capacity and working on a transition plan for the next step in the programme, he said