Viral fragments of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and African swine fever have been detected in imported meat, as Australia's government introduces new ...
"We have always said that animal-product imports are actually the biggest risk of FMD entering our country. So again, not a very practical move at an airport. "Pork floss is a processed, dried meat product that can be imported if it meets strict import conditions that mitigate the risk of exotic diseases, including African swine fever and FMD. The product was processed, but investigations have not found evidence that the treatment was to Australia's requirements. It is not the first time that fragments of African swine fever and FMD have been found in imported meat products in Australia. It is unclear if it is the first time that meat products have been seized from a supermarket or retail outlet following detection of FMD or African swine fever fragments. "We have detected FMD and African swine fever viral fragments in a small number of pork products for sale in the Melbourne CBD that were imported from China," Mr Watt said.
The devastating livestock disease is sweeping across Bali and poses an $80 billion economic threat to Australia.
It causes fever, lameness, and lesions on the tongue, feet, snout, and teats. The disease infects cloven-hoofed animals and does not affect the health of humans. Just one positive case of foot and mouth on an Australian farm could shut the $27 billion livestock export trade down for months or even years. “We have detected foot and mouth disease and African swine fever viral fragments in a small number of pork products for sale in the Melbourne CBD that were imported from China,” Watt said on Wednesday. An outbreak on Indonesia’s main island of Java has spread to the popular tourist island of Bali, which is visited by more than 1 million Australians a year, ramping up the risk of a first-ever outbreak in livestock Down Under. Foot and mouth disease and swine fever have been detected in animal products in Australia before. Pork products that were for sale in the Melbourne CBD were also found during routine inspections to contain viral fragments of both foot and mouth disease and African swine fever – another livestock disease that has not previously circulated among animals in Australia.
Agriculture minister says disinfectant mats will be installed to prevent arrival of the disease, which is spreading in Indonesia.
These flights are subject to biosecurity screening of all passengers and crew.” “You don’t have to go to the rural areas to come across livestock. “It’s completely justifiable that people are concerned. It’s a horrible virus that would lead to significant impact, but there are a wide range of measures in place that just aren’t particularly visible to the community,” he said. But according to Aaron Dodd, an expert in biosecurity at the University of Melbourne, there are a large number of additional biosecurity controls that have been put in place in Indonesia, at Australia’s borders, and onshore that he fears are getting lost in the conversation. “These sanitation mats will be a physical reminder to passengers to do the right thing to limit any spread of FMD, and will be used in conjunction with our current measures, such as passenger declaration, 100% profiling of all passengers entering from Indonesia, real time risk assessments, questioning and shoe cleaning,” Watt said on Wednesday.
Australia has detected traces of foot-and-mouth disease on imported animal products, deepening fears about a potential outbreak that could devastate the ...
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said today an undeclared beef product detected at an Australian airport had been found to contain the devastating disease. The ...
"At one level, these detections are very disturbing. An outbreak in Indonesia in recent months has been the focus of attention from Australian authorities. Foot and mouth diseasehas been detected in Australia after warnings an outbreak could deliver an $80 billion blow to the economy.