Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Testing for Mycoplasma bovis spread

A testing and tracing regime for Mycoplasma bovis will provide a clearer indication of its spread and potential actions for eradication by the end of February, says Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor.

In a meeting yesterday, Ministry for Primary Industries officials confirmed three lines of work to determine the spread would begin to return results next month.

The work includes:

- The National Mycoplasma bovis milk surveillance programme – MPI will test three samples of milk from every dairy farm starting on the 1st of February. Results are expected in February and March.

- Tracing animals moved from properties under Restricted Place notices – Investigators have followed up almost 1000 contacts for possible links to infected properties – with 39 under Restricted Place notices as testing continues and 17 confirmed infected properties. Tracing and confirming animal movements from the infected properties takes several days for each property and involves using records from National Animal Identification and Tracing, Animal Status Declarations, trucking dockets and interviews with farmers.

- Genome sequencing – the tool used to work out whether the strain of Mycoplasma bovis is the same across all infected farms. It takes several months as it involves growing the bacterium from samples.

Mr O'Connor visited farmers caught in the outbreak in Winton last week, after previously visiting affected South Canterbury properties before Christmas.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

"Farmers have shared their concerns about the speed of the response, started under the previous National Government in July, and how we can contain the spread of the disease,” Mr O’Connor says.

"I have great sympathy for farmers caught in the outbreak, who face tough decisions to protect their livelihoods.

“There is a willingness out there to do whatever it takes to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. This remains our focus.’’

Mycoplasma bovis is not a food safety risk. It is a disease that affects animal welfare and production.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.