FMD affects cloven-hoofed animals like cows, sheep, goats and pigs. Photo / Warren Buckland
FMD affects cloven-hoofed animals like cows, sheep, goats and pigs. Photo / Warren Buckland
OPINION:
Foot-and-mouth disease poses a significant risk to New Zealand and its agricultural sector.
The highly contagious and infectious viral disease has no significant health impact on humans, instead affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cows, sheep, goats and pigs.
There haven't been any local cases yet, but officials are onhigh alert following its return to Indonesia after the country was free of FMD for more than three decades.
It was reported yesterday that an outbreak would push up world commodity prices, lower the exchange rate and threaten more than 80,000 jobs.
A 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries report describes the grim economic outlook if there was a large hypothetical foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2011.
It concluded the net present value loss in real GDP between 2012 to 2020 was estimated at $16.2 billion. In addition, there would be eradication costs of $1.16b and compensation costs of $31 million.
Daron Parton's view on foot and mouth disease. Cartoon / Daron Parton
Those figures are so large they're hard to quantify, but without a doubt, an outbreak would be devastating.
But what's certain to hurt farmers is the number of livestock that would need to be destroyed by their owners for animal welfare reasons.
Modelling in the report showed that would be comprised of 16.5m lambs, 3.1m adult sheep, 3.1m adult cattle and calves and 356,000 deer. A further kill of 10,775 sheep, 19,661 cattle and 331 deer would be required for disease control.
That would be absolutely heartbreaking for farmers and their families.
Over the past week, Biosecurity New Zealand has begun using foot mats with disinfecting chemicals for arrivals from Indonesia in a trial to help ensure their footwear is clean of the virus.
Other recent measures announced by the Government against FMD include an audit of the palm kernel supply chain in Indonesia, an awareness campaign targetting travellers, and providing PPE and other tools to help Indonesia on the ground.
There are currently no direct flights from Indonesia, but people are able to fly there via Australia.
New Zealand authorities are working with their Australian counterparts on keeping the disease out and have put measures in place, but I'm a little uneasy about how safe we really are.
We've learnt - and continue to learn - first-hand how infectious diseases spread and the impact they can have.
The Covid-19 response will always be important, but our attention would also need to shift to a disease with far-reaching consequences if it arrived on our shores - one with devastating effects, not for us, but the industry that's the backbone of our country.
We have to have faith the experts and decision-makers are doing everything possible to keep foot-and-mouth disease out of New Zealand.
