Friday, March 29, 2024

M bovis effort turns two

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The Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme is now two years down the track and in good shape to achieve its goal, industry leaders say.
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In May 2018 the Government and industry partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb committed to a 10-year, $880 million programme to eradicate M bovis.

Latest technical data shows the world-first plan is on track. 

One key measure of success, the estimated dissemination rate (EDR), shows strongly eradication is firmly in sight.

If the EDR is greater than one then the disease is growing, below one it is diminishing. 

It is now 0.4, down from more than two at the start of the outbreak. 

That means M bovis is not endemic in the national herd.

Other key measures of success include genetic testing showing only one strain, thus linking all infected farms. 

Bulk milk testing is being done with research under way to improve it.

A beef surveillance programme is running, compensation processes have improved and the Nait use is improving.

While it has been an industry-wide effort and there is still a long way to go the beef sector can be proud of its contribution, B+LNZ chairman Andrew Morrison said.      

“Farmers deserve a lot of credit for their efforts in helping to free NZ of this disease.

“We are encouraged by the increasing number of farmers meeting their Nait obligations but we are still short of where we need to be.  

“It is vital we continue to lift this compliance otherwise we will remain vulnerable to diseases. 

“It’s also vital farmers maintain complete and accurate Nait records for the speedy tracing of animals and ultimately to protect the industry,” Morrison said.

DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel said there is no question M bovis has had a huge impact on the dairy sector, particularly affected farmers and their families. 

“While there’s still work to do farmer feedback has been heard and processes improved. 

“We are seeing more farmer-focused processes and shorter turnaround times for farms under movement restrictions,” van der Poel said.

“From here we want to continue speeding up the processes so farmers are moving through the programme as quickly as possible. 

“M bovis has been one of our biggest biosecurity incursions and it has highlighted how crucial biosecurity is for NZ,” van der Poel said.

Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor said, as with the covid-19 response, the Government showed leadership, made a tough decision and has managed the eradication effort with discipline and focus.

“We’ve also shown again that we’re able to do what other countries have not in terms of disease eradication efforts. 

“That’s something our farming community should be really proud of. I’m certainly very proud of them,” O’Connor said.

The priority over the next 12-18 months will continue to be finding and eliminating the disease. 

“This delimiting phase is expected to end in 2021 and after that background surveillance testing will continue for about seven years. 

“We will get another technical advisory group report in the coming months but two years into a 10-year effort I’m pleased by the progress made,” O’Connor said.

What’s involved?

249 total confirmed properties – 17 active, 232 cleared

Breakdown:

58 dairy, 137 beef, 54 other

68 North Island, 181 South Island

154,788 animals culled

1,431,333 tests completed

$149.3 million compensation paid

Total
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