Foot and Mouth Disease: Victoria’s $10m mobile testing package

Victoria’s FMD insurance policy has been beefed up with mobile incident centres bankrolled in a $10 million plan.

Mobile incident centres and portable sample testing will form the latest part of Victoria’s foot and mouth disease response package.

State Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney and chief vet Graeme Cooke confirmed the details of the $10 million initiative on Thursday, the latest in several measures implemented since FMD was detected in Indonesia two months ago.

The Victorian Government will upgrade its technological infrastructure to easily track outbreaks and co-ordinate online permits for livestock movements.

Specialist training in emergency animal diseases, outbreak management and recovery arrangements will also be rolled out to government agency staff and industry.

Ms Tierney said if an outbreak were to occur, a portable testing lab would be deployed to an outbreak location to allow real-time on-site sample testing.

She said the funding package would ensure farmers were equipped with resources they needed if the disease was detected on their property.

“The incident response centres will be located in regional Victoria. Obviously, the locations will be dependent on if and where an outbreak may be,” Ms Tierney said.

“It’s also about testing being closer to the source, to ensure quick turnaround testing.”

Gayle Tierney, Victoria’s Agriculture Minister, meeting with UDV vice president Mark Billing last month. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Last month, Ms Tierney established the Emergency Animal Disease Taskforce, to monitor the risk posed by FMD, lumpy skin disease and varroa mite.

The Victorian government also confirmed in July that more than 300 Agriculture Victoria biosecurity staff were undertaking FMD-specific training and emergency exercises, to prepare for a potential outbreak.

Dr Cooke said Indonesia had engineered a strong response to its FMD outbreak but warned the risk to Australia lingered.

“(Indonesia) have employed a range of expertise that previously (wasn’t operational). So that’s why we’re much more confident about the efficiency of the response. But of course, they still have FMD in 23 provinces, so that’s a very extensive outbreak,” he said.

The chief vet and Ms Tierney also met with organisers of the Royal Melbourne Show last month as the event launched its 2022 season.