Biosecurity initiatives - South Australia steps forward
An exciting biosecurity initiative began on March 6 in South Australia with the hosting of the first Biosecurity Stakeholder Workshop, an important step in developing a state biosecurity Strategy for South Australia. The workshop was a joint initiative of the the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity, the Department for Environment and Heritage and the Department of Primary Industries and Resources, South Australia.

The proposed Biosecurity Strategy for South Australia 2008-13 will complement national biosecurity arrangements, establishing high-level directions for state policy and biosecurity activities. The Strategy recognises the clear benefits in greater collaboration between governments, industries and communities.

An Interagency Committee reviewed and benchmarked current biosecurity arrangements. A number of key objectives were identified to enhance biosecurity for South Australia and these are being incorporated into the draft.

What does the Strategy aim to do?
The Strategy will address a wide range of biosecurity threats including animal pests and diseases (non human but including zoonoses), plant diseases and pests, weeds, invasive species (terrestrial and marine). This Strategy will not include emerging infectious diseases in humans, bioterrorism and genetically modified organisms (GMO's).

The proposed goals of the Strategy are to ensure that:

• pest and disease threats in South Australia are managed effectively through a coordinated, prepared and active biosecurity system
• new pests and diseases are prevented from arriving in South Australia
• incursions of new pests and diseases are detected, assessed and eradicated
• established pests and diseases are managed to reduce economic, environmental and social impacts

Water biosecurity: Potential threats to the poultry industry
For the poultry industry the heightened importance of water as a farm biosecurity risk has never been so great. Witnessing the widespread epidemics of avian influenza in parts of Asia and also Europe over the last five years has reminded us that the ongoing risk to the Australian bird population is very real.

AI is a highly contagious viral infection of birds and can cause sudden and high mortality of the bird population. It is transmitted, either through direct contact between birds, or through the faeces of sick birds contaminating watering sources and points and dust.

For this reason, biosecurity measures are the primary defence against the introduction of the disease into poultry farms.

Good biosecurity aims to maintain a barrier between bird populations; in this instance, domestic and wild bird populations. This is the single most important factor in reducing the risk of an avian flu outbreak among chickens.

As well as preventing contact between wild and domestic birds the following farm biosecurity guidelines should be adhered to in relation to water:

• do not locate sheds near open water (ponds, lakes, creeks, dams, puddles and water troughs) that attracts wild birds as this is a major risk
• use town or bore water where possible
• if dam or other surface water must be used, then filter out sediments, treat with chlorine and let it stand for two hours before providing to poultry

Preventing wild bird access is relatively straight forward where birds are enclosed in poultry sheds, but becomes more of a challenge where birds range freely over open areas. In the case of free-range birds, prevent access to possible sources of standing water used by wild birds and provide feed and water only in sheds so as not to attract wild birds.

Andreas Dubs, Executive Director of the Australian Chicken Meat Federation comments, "A little known fact is that we had five outbreaks of AI in commercial poultry in the 20 years up to 1997. These outbreaks did not involve the H5N1 strain that is currently of concern in a number of other countries. They were all brought under control quickly with minimal disease spread before they were eradicated. The main reason the outbreaks we've had here previously were handled successfully was the rapid and effective action jointly taken by governments and industry.

Coupled with industry preparedness we also have recognised procedures in place, namely the National Biosecurity Manual for Meat Chicken Farms, to help minimise the chance of any outbreaks. We recognise the biosecurity risk water poses and have strict guidelines for the industry to adhere to".

The National Biosecurity Manual can be accessed on line at www.chicken.org.au (by selecting Downloads on the left).

Australian Alpaca Association tackles Farm Biosecurity
The Australian Alpaca Association (AAA Ltd) has approximately 2400 members and nearly 2000 alpaca herds nationwide and Farm Biosecurity is an issue firmly on its agenda. Farm Biosecurity was highlighted and discussed in detail back in 2006 by AAA Board Member Iona McKinnon. She submitted a paper illustrating biosecurity on her own property which was also delivered at the National Conference, raising awareness of the importance of biosecurity.

Since then, committee members have been active in national biosecurity planning initiatives and have worked towards specific industry education. AAA was also represented at the recent AHA Biosecurity planning meeting to discuss the outcomes of the early 2007 biosecurity survey of AHA member organisations.

Image courtesy: Wayne Mohekey

Recent AAA council meetings have discussed what steps members can take to address biosecurity at regional general meetings and these simple measures have been promoted. For example, Farm Biosecurity messages have been included in the AAA newsletter and Farm Biosecurity visitor record sheets produced by AHA have been distributed to AAA members who are encouraged to use them. Mr Dwyer comments, "We also plan to distribute the new AHA farm biosecurity flyer to our members to help drive greater awareness of farm biosecurity. Members are also being encouraged to review their farm layouts to see whether they can improve farm design and access to influence their own farm biosecurity.

Over 70% of AAA alpaca growers have less than 10 animals so they have a high level of awareness of the location and health of their animals, particularly given the financial commitment in the animals. Regardless of the size of the alpaca farms we understand the importance of farm biosecurity at all levels".

Alpaca growers are also encouraged to be part of QAlpaca which addresses farm boundary issues, water sources for stock use and other important biosecurity considerations.