Questions raised over bird flu detection

Bird flu is in Fiji, said Mike Towler, founder of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest manufacturer of lifejackets.

His comment followed news of the lifting of a Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) ban on poultry items imported from New Zealand.

Last December, BAF placed a temporary suspension on imported poultry from New Zealand, after a contamination incident was reported in New Zealand.

It followed a contamination case on a commercial egg farm in Otago.

“If it was detected in New Zealand, it would certainly have arrived in Fiji,” Mr Towler said.

He questioned local detection systems.

“We haven’t got the system here to detect it, nor would anyone here voluntarily say they have detected it,” he said.

“We would do the normal Fiji thing and remain quiet.

“Bird flu has been detected in Australia and New Zealand, but not Fiji or PNG or any other Pacific Island nation?

“Really?

“Pull the other leg, it plays jingle bells.”

Eventually it would be detect in Fiji because the strain could not be hidden forever, Mr Towler said.

“It’s spread by migratory birds and we have them visiting us all the time.

“Once it gets in here, it will be a disaster.” News of the ban and its suspension met with mixed reactions.

Dr Stephen Angus, a former principal veterinarian officer for animal health and production at the Department of Agriculture, said there was no need to panic, as New Zealand was the region’s leader in biosecurity.

“It’s about the only place in the world we could get poultry from as we had cut off Australia,” he said.

However, he questioned controlled measures on free range chicken farms, such as the one in Otago, that led to the ban.

“How do you protect wild range chicken farms,” he said.

Dr Angus said the incident in New Zealand could have either been from bird droppings, or through a body of water that was contaminated.

“It’s a spillover from wild life, not nasty like the one from South East Asia, not the one that affects human life,” he said.

Who is affected

BAF had already introduced several restrictive measures for travellers, including the ban on personal fresh or cured poultry egg imports and processed poultry products such as sausages, cooked chicken meat or patties, before the ban was lifted.

In May, Viki Moore, managing director of the yacht cruising rally company, Island Cruising, expressed frustration over BAF’s application of the policy, citing reports that officials were confiscating chicken imports from sailors arriving in Fiji while allowing others to keep theirs. She welcomed the news that authorities have lifted the ban.

“Sailors from New Zealand and Australia on the Pacific Rally are well aware of the biosecurity risks that pests can bring to affect our isolated island nations,” she said.

“We look forward to working with BAF to ensure that the current and correct regulations are distributed to visiting sailors and that the inwards biosecurity clearance is consistent across all ports of entry into Fiji.”

Port Denarau Marina chief executive officer, Cynthia Rasch, said BAF’s decision removes some uncertainty for visiting foreign yachties coming from New Zealand and the marina itself.

“From our side at the marina, it also helps ease some of the logistical back-and-forth during clearance.

It’s a small change, but one that will make a real difference to both visiting vessels and the agencies supporting them,” she said.

“It’s also encouraging to see BAF taking a balanced, risk-based approach that supports both biosecurity and the needs of our marine tourism sector.”

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