Are You A Bioterrorist?
Dorothy - 31/08/01

I expect most of you will say, "Of course not! I'm a law-abiding citizen!" But have you ever smuggled fruit or seeds or garden cuttings through customs at the airport when returning from overseas, and then tossed your infested half-eaten apple out the window on the way from the airport to the city?

I used to think that biosecurity described part of a Government Minister's portfolio and was only the responsibility of the scientists and customs officers who took care of it.

That was before I heard Terry Donaldson, Biosecurity and Emergency Response Resource Manager of AgriQuality New Zealand Ltd, give a talk on "The Hitchhikers' Guide to New Zealand Biosecurity". He placed the responsibility not only on visitors to New Zealand, but squarely on the shoulders of every New Zealander, especially those who travel overseas and then return home carrying unwanted pests and diseases.

Terry began his address by giving us a vivid picture of the disastrous consequences of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Britain, and outlining what would be the consequences of a similar outbreak in New Zealand.

Since the thirteenth century an estimated 146,000 species of plants, animals, insects and birds have been introduced into New Zealand. The best known early examples are the dog and the rat brought by the early Maori, but later worse pests were introduced by European settlers - gorse, broom, rabbits, possums.

The foot and mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain
The damage that can be caused by breaches of biosecurity is clearly shown by the foot and mouth outbreak in England. The extent of the damage can be gauged by the cost in Great Britainto agriculture of £60,000,000 a week for control measures and lost exports and £400,000,000 in lost tourism - per week!

Mobility of stock increased the spread of the disease
The Waugh brothers at Heddon-on-the-Wall in Northumberland were being investigated for animal welfare complaints. They had a large herd of pigs and when the animals showed symptoms of foot and mouth disease they failed to identify and report the outbreak for at least three weeks. During that time neighbours' stock were infected but showed no clinical signs. Some of these were then sent to the market at Prestwick and infected the other stock before these were all sold to farmers all over England.

The system of EU subsidy payment appears to be a contributing factor to the widespread movement of stock and the spread of the disease in this outbreak.

Control measures
In New Zealand if there is a report of a suspected outbreak of foot and mouth disease, usually via the MAF hotline 0800 exotic disease response number, the first vet is dispatched within thirty minutes and has to get there and report back within five hours. If he does not report a negative diagnosis a second vet is sent. If the report is not negative within another hour road blocks are set up.

The emergency response group who were on standby following the initial notification, swing into gear to establish the response HQ and close down the farm and area to prevent any spread of the disease.

In Britain it appeared to be several days before movement control was imposed. Subsequently 1400 vets, including some from New Zealand, were involved in on-farm diagnoses, 1800 soldiers were disposing of the carcases by burning and burial, and several thousand public servants were working on the crisis compensation and logistics.

New Zealand's clean green image affects ALL EXPORTS
New Zealand has particularly stringent control measures because its clean, green image affects not only plant and animal exports, but all exports. The perception of the clean, green image makes New Zealand attractive to purchasers and to tourists and is a critical element of our international marketing.

New Zealand exports are normally to the top 3-5% of the world's markets where standards are very high and perceptions are all important. Those with the big dollars of disposable income are choosing food products from countries with a clean green, disease-free image.

Fruit fly introduced
An example of how easily pests can be introduced and the high costs of control is the introduction of the fruit fly to the Auckland area in 1996.

Fruit fly was discovered and it is believed that it was introduced by larvae in a fruit brought in by a passenger on an overseas flight and thrown out the window of a car between the Auckland Airport and the city.

Cost of control and lost exports enormous
The cost of spraying and other measures to control the outbreak was about $6,000,000. The cost to New Zealand from lost New Zealand exports was $12,000,000. One reaction was from the Chinese who stopped all imports from New Zealand for eighteen months.

Hitchhikers
The way most diseases or pests get into the country is as hitchhikers with people carrying animal or agricultural products, such as food or dirt on shoes or smuggled plant material. We cannot lay all the blame on foreigners visiting the country. Of all the interceptions at the border 40% were New Zealanders bringing in prohibited items. Often these are the result of the tourist clearing out what is in the motel and putting it in their bags - soap, lotion and shampoo which are harmless, but also fruit and honey which can carry undesirable hitchhikers.

Honey a particular problem
Bee products and equipment have been banned from import for forty years because they could carry a wide range of pests and diseases that could destroy our honey industry and impact on the pollination of our horticultural and pastoral crops on which New Zealand depends for its prosperity. Anecdotal reports suggest that there have been many introductions of new strains of bees to boost the gene bank of the New Zealand apiary industry - even though this was illegal.

In doing this the illegal importers are threatening the survival of their own industry, by risking the importation of pests such as the Varroa mite which has now caused so many problems in the northern part of the North Island and is now moving south.

What is the worst example of bio-terrorism in New Zealand?
The deliberate planned introduction of rabbit haemorrhagic disease Link to http://www.nzine.co.nz/features/calicivirus.html via the calicivirus could expose New Zealand to the risk of diseases like the deadly anthrax which has been present in South Australia, which was the likely source of the calicivirus introduced into New Zealand. Anthrax, a serious wasting disease, can lie dormant for many years so the risk still exists. This disease can be passed from animals to human beings.

The cost of biosecurity breaches
Olive trees
One nursery legally imported olive trees which were held in quarantine. When it became clear that if they remained there for all the required time the growers would lose a season's growth political pressure was exerted and the trees were released before the quarantine results were conclusive. The result was that olive root knot disease showed up after release and 20,000 olive trees were recovered in the area from Waiheke Island to Central Otago and incinerated.

The onus is on us all
Whether or not New Zealand is the victim of bioterrorism lies in the hands of travellers. The responsibility for maintaining the country's clean, green image must be viewed very seriously by every traveller - visiting tourist or returning New Zealand citizen. We can be grateful that we have such vigilant surveillance of our borders and a team trained and ready to respond if something does breach our "green" biosecurity curtain.