Sheep ready to be shorn are pictured at the Roger Barton sheep farmer’s property in New Zealand’s Wairarapa region on November 14, 2014. REUTERS / Naomi Tajitsu
WELLINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) – New Zealand on Monday urged travelers returning from Indonesia to take extra precautions and in some cases stay away from farms for at least a week to prevent a local outbreak of foot and mouth disease that could devastate the country. important livestock industry.
“New Zealand has never had an outbreak and we want to do everything we can to keep it that way,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during her weekly press conference.
Indonesia, including popular tourist destination Bali, recently had a foot and mouth disease outbreak, increasing the risk of the virus reaching New Zealand.
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Foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious animal disease that affects cattle, sheep, goats, deer, llamas and pigs but does not pose a threat to humans. On the same subject : Travel the world and space from home with these video games.
The central bank’s model predicts that a widespread outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in New Zealand would have an estimated direct economic impact of around NZ $ 10 billion (US $ 6.23 billion) after two years.
Australia has also stepped up its precautions against the disease. Read more
Ardern said Biosecurity New Zealand, the country’s agency to keep pests and diseases out of the country, prevents any traveler from bringing personal shipments of meat products from Indonesia and requires them to use washing mats. your shoes at the airports on the way back.
“Please be responsible to all New Zealanders and travelers. Please be honest and complete in biosecurity statements upon returning from a trip abroad,” he said.
He pointed out that all travelers who have interacted with animals in a country known to have foot and mouth disease must stay away from the farms for a week.
Ardern said ports are also taking extra precautions to make sure that nothing, including shipping containers, arriving in the country from Indonesia could be contaminated.
($ 1 = 1.6041 NZ dollars)
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Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Edmund Klamann On the same subject : Pain insensitive to sound. Researchers can now know why.
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