FAQs related to Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreak in Japan

No, there is no Foot and Mouth Disease risk for people from eating meat.

No. Vaccination is used in some countries where FMD is present to control the disease.

Although death from Foot and Mouth Disease is unusual in adult animals, it causes serious production losses and can kill young animals. The clinical signs are fever, followed by the appearance of vesicles (fluid-filled blisters) between the toes and on the heels, on mammary glands and especially on the lips, tongue and palate. These vesicles often combine to form large, swollen blisters that erupt to leave raw, painful ulcers that take up to 10 days to heal. Foot lesions leave animals lame and unable to walk to feed or water. Mouth lesions are highly painful and cause animals to stop eating. Adults usually begin eating again after a few days, but young animals may weaken and die, especially if the virus has caused lesions on heart muscles, or be left with foot deformities or damage to the mammary glands.

Foot and Mouth Disease can be destroyed by heat, low humidity, or certain disinfectants, but it may exist for a varying time in a suitable medium such as the frozen or chilled carcass of an infected animal and on contaminated objects.

Foot and Mouth Disease is regarded as one of the most highly infectious livestock diseases. It spreads very rapidly from one animal to another, especially in cool, damp climates and/or when animals are penned or housed in cold weather. Seven strains of the virus are recognised.

It is generally accepted that maximum aerosol spread is 10 km over land (up to 60 km suspected) and up to 250 km over water. Concentrations of pigs can generate virus aerosols (plumes) over considerable distance if environmental conditions are suitable- high humidity, cool ambient temperature. Airborne transmission from cattle and sheep can not be shown experimentally to occur over distances in excess of approximately 3 km. Although occasionally dramatic, plumes are FMD strain specific and may not be important in disease spread. Infected animals and animal products are by far the important source of new infections.

Foot and Mouth Disease is transmitted from one animal to another in saliva, mucus, milk or faeces. It can also be spread by aerosols in the wind (excreted from the lungs of infected animals by breathing). Wool, hair, grass or straw, footwear, clothing, livestock equipment or vehicle tyres may act as mechanisms of infection.

FMD has a wide host including cattle, swine, sheep, goats, deer, elk, antelope, bison, and water buffalo. Llamas and alpacas have a high natural resistance to infection and appear not transmit FMD to other camelids under field conditions. Elephants are also susceptible. Horses are resistant.

Experimentally other species including mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, embryonating chicken eggs and chickens themselves may be infected but these are not implicated in the spread of FMD. Foot and Mouth Disease is not a human health risk.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) is an acute, highly contagious viral infection of cloven hoofed domestic animals and wildlife, easily transmitted by direct and indirect contact as well as aerosol. It is found in most parts of the world, at present the World Animal Health Organisation lists 55 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America that have the disease.

A FMD outbreak represents a significant threat to New Zealand's economy and way of life, with the following likely consequences.

• virtually all exports of meat, animal by products, and dairy products would halt and most would not resume until at least three months after the slaughter of the last infected animal
• our international reputation for premium beef and lamb could be severely damaged
• there would be a cumulative reduction in our GDP of around $6 billion dollars in the first year, rising up to $10 billions dollars by the second year
• unemployment would rise by 1 percent - a loss of approximately 15,000-20,000 jobs.

Countries recognized as FMD free without vaccination have no international trade restrictions whereas those that utilise vaccine to control FMD experience significant embargoes.

There are seven strains of the FMD virus. Vaccines tend to protect against only one strain. To adopt vaccination as an effective preventive measure would require use of either multi-valent vaccines (i.e. containing more than one virus strain) or multiple vaccines.

Preventive vaccination would interfere with clinical expression of disease if FMD were introduced, while still allowing virus to circulate. So, the sensitivity of surveillance measures would decrease. Further, the presence of antibody positive animals in the population would interfere with serological surveillance to demonstrate disease freedom, because there are still no widely available tests to distinguish between antibodies from natural infection and those from vaccination.

Emergency suppressive vaccination (vaccinating animals in an outbreak, then slaughtering all vaccinated animals) may assist eradication procedures. NZ is creating their own FMD Vaccine Bank for emergency use in the event of an outbreak. Resumption of status as "FMD free without vaccination" occurs three months after the last case and the slaughter of all vaccinated animals.

New Zealand has never had a case of Foot and Mouth Disease. However, it is vulnerable because of the high number of visitors from Asia and the UK to the country, and from New Zealanders returning from trips overseas.

MAF Biosecurity New Zealand Clearance figures indicate that 42 per cent of all passengers found with undeclared risk goods are New Zealanders returning from overseas.

New Zealand is also vulnerable to people sending risk goods back to New Zealand through the mail, or ordering food or plant material from overseas, and people ordering over the Internet.

There are many potential ways, but the international spread of FMD virus is most commonly via the movement of live ruminants and pigs, followed by the movement of meat and meat products.

The two diseases are quite different. Foot and Mouth Disease in livestock is cased by a different virus (Picornavirus) and is not a threat to human health. Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, is caused by a different virus (Coxsackie virus A16). It affects the inside of the mouth and the palms of the hands, fingers and soles of feet mostly of young children and especially among groups in day care centres, but it may be seen in adults.

FMD is not a public health concern. In exceptionally rare cases, FMD has been isolated from humans with itching vesicles in Europe, Africa and South America.

MAF has a full emergency plan ready for immediate action which has clear lines of accountability between the agencies and organisations involved in managing FMD.

Firstly there is an investigation:

Within 15 minutes of an alert to a possible FMD outbreak, a vet is dispatched by the Exotic Disease Response Centre. This vet must report back to the outbreak response manager at the Centre within six hours. During this time the entire exotic disease response system is placed on alert.

If the vet can't rule out FMD, an exotic disease investigator will be sent to collect samples. These samples will then go to the New Zealand Animal Health Reference Laboratory for immediate diagnosis and samples will be sent on the Pirbright Animal Health Laboratory in the UK for final virus 'typing' to determine the exact strain of FMD. Once this is identified a vaccine specific for that strain will be ordered. A Restricted Place Notice will be placed on the farm/s under investigation prohibiting the movement of all livestock, vehicles on and off the farm, and other high risk items.

Then comes the Response phase:

Within the first 24 hours of a definite confirmation of FMD, the following actions must happen:

• whole of government crisis management mechanism is activated
• immediate national livestock standstill
• slaughter of susceptible stock on known infected farms
• restricted place notices are prepared to quarantine infected premises
• road blocks put in place
• movement control of risk products within and out of the restricted place and controlled area
• intensive tracing and investigation of all livestock movements on and off infected properties
• decontamination of premises, vehicles and other high-risk items in contact with infected animals
• markets notified and suspension of trade
• briefing of officials and key stakeholders
• markets notified and suspension of trade
• briefing of officials and key stakeholders, at both national and local level.

They should contact the MAF emergency hotline immediately on 0800 80 99 66 any time of day or night.

Biosecurity New Zealand is very aware of the seriousness of European Foulbrood and other bee diseases not present in New Zealand, and the potential impact on our beekeeping industry if they became established here. Biosecurity New Zealand has analysed the risks associated with honey imports using the same robust, internationally recognised process it uses for any other category of biosecurity risk goods. This risk analysis, which was peer-reviewed by international experts in bee diseases, concluded that risks could be effectively managed.

The risk analysis process has extended over five years. Evidence was collated from:

• peer-reviewed journals and other respected publications
• consulting with experts both locally and internationally
• new cutting-edge research.

Issues raised by stakeholders and any new information is considered on an on-going basis.

The Australian Government has been requesting access for its honey since the late 1980s, so this is not a new request. New Zealand is a signatory to trade agreements which say we cannot prohibit imports unless there is a valid biosecurity reason for preventing them We expect other countries to accept our exports on the same terms.

Bee products eligible for import from Australia under the new IHS are: foundation beeswax; honey; raw beeswax; pollen in bulk form; raw propolis and royal jelly in bulk form. These products must be certified by the Australian government as having met specified sanitary requirements. Highly processed bee products from Australia are covered in an existing import health standard for bee products.

Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) originates from Africa and has in the past seven years become established in the southern region of the United States, Egypt and in three Australian states. It is not present in New Zealand. Rather than causing larval disease, small hive beetle larvae cause significant damage to honey bee colonies, stored combs and apiary products. In some locations, small hive beetle has been reported to cause deaths of bee colonies.

Until recently Nosemosis (or Nosema disease) was thought to be caused only by Nosema apis, a spore-forming parasite that invades the intestinal tract of adult bees and is widespread in beekeeping countries throughout the world including New Zealand. Nosema is spread mainly by the movement of beekeeping equipment and by bees moving between colonies, but also by bee products. Nosema is normally only a problem during cold weather when infected bees develop dysentery. A related Nosema species from Asia, Nosema ceranae, has recently been identified as causing Nosema disease in European honey bees. Nosema ceranae has not been identified in New Zealand.

European Foulbrood is a bacterial disease of bees caused by Melissococcus pluton. It is not present in New Zealand, but is found in many other beekeeping countries. European Foulbrood does not form spores, but can be spread on bee products and beekeeping equipment. European Foulbrood is often considered internationally as a ‘stress’ disease - a disease that is usually not fatal to a colony unless the colony is already under stress for other reasons. Healthy colonies usually survive European Foulbrood. Overseas, outbreaks are controlled chemically by feeding antibiotics to infected colonies.

American Foulbrood is a bacterial disease of bees caused by a strain of the spore-forming bacteria Paenibacillus larvae. This organism has been present in New Zealand since 1877 and is under a national control programme. American Foulbrood affects developing bees and infected colonies often die. It is spread mainly by the movement of beekeeping equipment and by bees moving between colonies, but also by bee products. Beekeepers can reduce the impact of the disease to below economically significant levels by following good management practices.

Import health standards are constantly reviewed in the light of new information such as changing disease status in exporting countries, changes in international standards and latest research findings. For example, Biosecurity New Zealand became aware of the possibility of Nosema ceranae, a newly identified bee parasite that is linked to bee diseases in Europe, being introduced into New Zealand. Biosecurity New Zealand investigated this possibility and a technical report was completed. The conclusion of this technical report was that there was sufficient uncertainty regarding this organism to include temporary measures in the import health standard for bee products from Australia.

No. New Zealand does not engage in reciprocal deals on biosecurity. While New Zealand depends on its agricultural and horticultural products having as much access as possible to overseas markets, it strongly advocates a rules-based approach to international trade.

Each risk analysis must be considered on its own merit, and any deviation from this may result in New Zealand losing ground on international disputes over market access.

Even though there is scientific uncertainty, Biosecurity New Zealand’s view is that the body of evidence is sufficient to support its conclusion that appropriately treated imported honey can be safely imported.

Biosecurity New Zealand and the beekeeping industry largely agree on the available scientific information and its limitations. Where the two differ is over perceptions of ‘acceptable risk’.

The legal responsibility for issuing import health standards under Section 22 of the Biosecurity Act 1993 is the Director-General of MAF. This is done on the recommendation of a Chief Technical Officer, who must consider:

• the likelihood of any organisms being brought into New Zealand
• the possible impact on New Zealand of any imported organisms
• New Zealand’s international obligations.

The process by which these matters are considered is Import Risk Analysis. Biosecurity New Zealand has played a leading role internationally in the development of Risk Analysis methods, and the methodology used by Biosecurity New Zealand adheres closely to the internationally agreed process. The honey bee products risk analysis was peer-reviewed by seven international experts with experience in these exotic diseases in their own countries. This has ensured transparency and lack of bias.

Biosecurity New Zealand is satisfied that the decisions reached by following the established Risk Analysis process in this case deliver a level of protection that is consistent with that achieved by standards for other animal products such as milk products from countries or zones with foot and mouth disease.

This is not a question of whether there is a need or a demand. The only question is whether the biosecurity risks associated with imports are acceptable. If the product can safely enter New Zealand, it is up to individual consumers and food manufacturers to decide whether to buy it or not.

Yes; honey and bee products can be safely imported because we have assessed the risk to be negligible. Biosecurity New Zealand uses the following Oxford dictionary definition of negligible: “Of a thing, quantity, etc.: able to be neglected or disregarded; unworthy of notice or regard; spec. so small or insignificant as not to be worth considering.”

A wide range of goods can be imported into New Zealand. Certain goods will have to meet specific import conditions before clearance.

To check if you can import a particular item you will need to refer to the relevant Import Health Standard.