The vets will discuss preparedness for biosecurity risks such as foot and mouth disease.
Register for the webinar at: agriculture.vic.gov.au/events
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Melbourne University’s Professor John Fazakerley has provided Country News with a detailed explainer about foot and mouth disease.
Prof Fazakerley is a Fellow of the UK Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal Society of Biology. He has been a director of the UK National Virology Institute.
He points out that Australia has been free of FMD since 1872, but outbreaks in neighbouring countries are a cause for concern
Prof Fazakerley says the virus is highly infectious and hardy in the environment.
“The disease is a challenge from an animal health, animal welfare and food productivity point of view, but the economic consequences are also a major concern,” he said.
“International trade laws prohibit the export of animals, meat and other animal products (for example, semen for breeding) from countries that have foot and mouth disease to those that don’t.
“Eliminating an outbreak might, if small, be accomplished by vaccination, but more frequently it requires the culling of infected animals — a so-called stamping-out of the infection.”
To read the detailed examination of the threat and its possible consequences, visit: www.countrynews.com.au
This story is free to read.
