Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

The recent foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak and subsequent scares in the UK are a reminder of how serious a threat FMD is to New Zealand’s livestock industry.

NIWA scientist Tom Clarkson monitors air vents at a piggery. (Photo: Richard Turner, NIWA)

FMD has never occurred here, but risk of an outbreak is ever-present, as FMD exists in many countries around the world.

New Zealand’s numerous lines of defence against FMD are maintained at the ready, 365 days a year. They are overseen by MAF Biosecurity NZ and involve a range of scientific institutions.

NIWA’s role is related to possible airborne spread of the FMD virus. Staff are permanently on stand-by so that, should a FMD alarm occur, field teams can rapidly deploy weather instruments. Weather data would then be transmitted to waiting office staff to feed into NIWA’s plume dispersion emergency modelling system (PDEMS). NIWA could provide feedback to MAF about the probable dispersion path of airborne FMD virus within four hours of the initial alarm.

Dr Richard Turner, who manages PDEMS, says "We regularly test the system at different locations, and staff are kept trained so we can respond quickly at all times. We are one small component of a multi-linked system, but we would play an important part in any response to a FMD incursion."