Background Mycoplasma Bovis
Will New Zealand get M. bovis under control?
Mycoplasma bovis, better known to many as M. bovis, has dominated New Zealand for several years now. Cows have now been tested positive for the disease on almost 250 farms. What is the current status of the eradication of M. bovis?
The battle is not over yet, but the country is making progress. This was announced by the New Zealand Minister of Agriculture, Damien O'Connor, at the end of February. A positive approach, but in the meantime the numbers don't lie. There are still companies that are dealing with an active contamination. The vast majority of infections have been identified on beef cattle farms.
Hard numbers
The latest update of April 29, 2020 of 'Biosecurity New Zealand' shows the most recent figures regarding the M. bovis situation. In total, an infection has been confirmed at 247 companies. Of these, 221 companies have now been declared 'clean', which means that 26 companies are still dealing with an active infection. The share of dairy farms is relatively small at 59. More than half of the affected farms (135) keep beef cattle. In addition, the South Island has been hit harder with 180 infected farms than the North Island (67), in terms of the amount of infected farms.
Furthermore, the update shows that nearly 1,4 million animals have been tested, more than 150.000 animals have been euthanized and $146,6 million has been paid in compensation. The money from the compensation is divided between 1.810 applications. In addition to the already paid applications, there are also 162 claims waiting to be processed. From an economic point of view, the disease therefore has a significant impact.
Healthy cows to slaughter
In order to be declared 'clean' as a company, it must be cleared and disinfected. That explains the high slaughter rate. It is striking that the government indicated in 2018 that 150.000 cows would be slaughtered to eradicate the disease. They have now reached that number, but the disease is still present. It is therefore to be expected that the number of cows slaughtered will continue to increase, as long as the disease has not yet been eradicated.
The problem with the M. bovis bacterium is that it is difficult to detect. A cow can be infected for a long time without showing any symptoms. For this reason, every cow on an already infected farm is a potential source of infection. As a result, whole groups of healthy cows also leave for the slaughterhouses. For many New Zealand dairy farmers it is therefore a huge blow, both financially and emotionally.
Petition
One dairy farmer decided last May 5 that the slaughter of healthy cows must be stopped. He started a petition to stop the unnecessary slaughter. According to him, livestock farmers worldwide are able to contain the disease, without wasting taxpayers' and farmers' money and the lives of animals. Then New Zealand should be able to do that too, right?
Besides the fact that the slaughter of healthy animals and all the stress that comes with it due to transport and the like are an attack on animal welfare, he also mentions the mental state of the dairy farmer. Family businesses face bankruptcy, livestock farmers see their life's work go to slaughter and employees lose their jobs.
Spread
The Mycoplasma bovis bacterium has been living in the country's livestock since July 2017. The bacterium was first found in 14 cows on a dairy farm in the South Canterbury region of the South Island. The dairy farm is part of the Van Leeuwen Dairy Group. The company owns a total of 16 farms, with a total of 12.500 cows. The chance that the disease had already spread before the discovery was therefore very high. It did not take long before one of the other companies tested positive for the bacterium.
The spread of the bacteria is silent. A cow can carry it for a long time without any sign of contamination. Shedding often takes place when the cow experiences stress, for example during calves, transport or in extreme weather.
The bacteria is spread through nasal discharge and milk, among other things. Contamination can occur during milking through the use of contaminated milk claws. Calves can become infected by drinking contaminated milk. The bacterium causes conditions such as mastitis, pneumonia, osteoarthritis and abortion.
Jorine Cosse
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