Biosecurity newsletter

Biosecurity Symposium 2019

Animal Health Australia, together with the Invasive Species Council and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, hosted the inaugural 2019 Australian Biosecurity Symposium, on the 12-13 June at the Gold Coast, QLD. The theme of this year’s event was preventative biosecurity practices, with many of the 90 presentations focusing on research and innovation and behavioural change to better protect our economy, environment and way of life. 

Almost 400 delegates from around the world attended the event to discuss how we can future-proof our multi-billion dollar agricultural industry and environment and influence the direction of Australia’s future biosecurity system, network, develop new concepts, share and test ideas, build new partnerships and engage in challenging discussions that stimulated debate and energy.

A number of NSW DPI staff presented their knowledge on agriculture, pest animals, weeds, wildlife, aquatics and the environment. Insightful and engaging presentations were given by eco-visionary, host of ABC’s Gardening Australia and MC, Costa Georgiadis, Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer from the Department of Agriculture, Ian Thompson and CEO of Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, Andreas Glanznig. The plenary sessions at the Symposium were creatively captured and summarised through live illustration. 

The 2nd Australian Biosecurity Symposium will be held in 2021 with a workshop to be held in 2020 to progress key outcomes from this year’s Symposium.

Nominations open for 2019 NSW ‘Farmer Of The Year’ and ‘Young Farmer Of The Year’

The prestigious ‘Farmer of the Year’ award is now open for applications, with the ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ award back by popular demand for the first time in several years.

These awards recognise excellence in the NSW agricultural sector, and this year more than ever, it is vital that the ongoing efforts of our farmers and their families are acknowledged and their achievements celebrated, as they continue to face one of the worst droughts in living memory. 

The awards provide an important opportunity to promote the agriculture sector and help contribute to the future growth of the industry. 

The NSW Farmer of the Year Award is open to all NSW farmers, fishers and foresters, while the Younger Farmer Award is open to those aged between 18 to 35.

Winners of each category will receive $4,000 in prize money, while runners up receive $2,000 in prize money. Nominations close on Monday, 23 September 2019. 

For more information or to nominate an outstanding farmer, visit NSW Farmer of the Year awards

The awards are an initiative of NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and NSW

Farmers, with support from SafeWork NSW and The Land newspaper.

Meet Jordan, Leader Plant Pathology Curation

Name: Jordan Bailey

Occupation: Leader Plant Pathology Curation (Collections)

What does your role entail?

As curator of the Plant Pathology and Mycology Herbarium, I oversee over 120,000 specimens of plant pathogens, like fungi, bacteria and viruses, but also non-pathogenic fungi, like mushrooms and lichens. 

These are mainly dried and pressed specimens of infected plant material but also includes 6,000 cultures of living fungi and bacteria, which enables a wide variety of applications such as studying host-disease interactions. 

Our specimens are used to establish area of freedom for plant diseases and are the official plant disease records for NSW, as records of plant disease must be backed up by a physical specimen. They are also foundational to biosecurity research and diagnostics. In order to manage a disease, the causal agent must first be defined. 

Reference specimens are vital for developing and carrying out diagnostics and also in the identification and defining of new species. All new species must have a voucher specimen held at a recognised collection. We have over 2,000 of these voucher specimens at the Herbarium and have recently undertaking photographing them all, to be shared online through biodiversity portals like the Atlas of Living Australia.

What projects are you currently working on? 

We are currently working on a major data capture initiative for the Collections. We currently have a bit of a backlog of specimen databasing to do, some 250,000 specimens are not recorded electronically. We aim to get at least 100,000 of these done over the next few years. 

What are three words you’d use to describe your current job? 

Engaging, Varied, Unique

What do you like most about working at NSW DPI?

I love being located in Orange and the Collections and Biosecurity teams are filled with great people. 

What are some of the challenges of your job? 

Communicating the importance of the Collections and submitting specimens to Collections. Without a community of active contributors,  Collections like ours risk becoming stagnant and less relevant. We need regular submissions of plant pests and diseases so the data and specimens can be pooled together, enabling bigger ideas about pest and disease identification and epidemiology to be investigated.

What are your top three career highlights?

1. Engagement: The Collections is a really great way to engage the public in learning about plant health and biosecurity. We have been able to create several events, exhibitions and workshops. I have been interviewed in the local paper a few times and on the news and radio and have been involved in a podcast with Costa, which is always fun. This year, I presented to over 200 students for science week and exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens Living Lab.
2. Funding: We have been lucky over the past two years to get support for Collections upgrades and equipment, not just internally, but externally too. Our “Heritage Near Me” grant has enabled us to photograph over 4,000 specimens from our collections, all of which will be shared online through the Atlas of Living Australia.
3. Data capture: We are finally up and running with our new database. This database will allow us to capture data more easily and share it between DPI staff and externally to researchers and biosecurity officers.

Before working at NSW DPI, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve had? 

Before working at NSW DPI, I spent three and a half years in the USA. During this time, I worked at Purdue University in Indiana and at the United States Department of Agriculture. The position at Purdue was managing the herbarium specimen imaging project. This involved photographing a few thousand specimens and checking their data with a team of undergraduate students. We also photographed a special collection of medicinal plants gifted to the university by the Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company. This collection included very old specimens; I kept seeing the same collectors name amongst them, who turned out to be a confederate medic. The specimens would have been used by him to correctly identify medicinal plants. There were all sorts of amazing pockets of history in that collection including specimens collected by George Washington Carver (an American agricultural scientist and inventor) and General Custer.

We also digitised the heritage materials associated with the Herbarium. When the founder of the Herbarium, Joseph Charles Arthur retired, he disagreed with the University about who owned the collection and one night packed up the entire thing (over 40,000 specimens) and took them home. He ultimately won and was paid three and a half cents per specimen. The request from the University President to return the specimens was sent to J. C. Arthur by the Sheriffa and can be viewed here.

The best thing about this story is that the same thing happened in the 1990s! When the director at the time felt the herbarium would be safer with him in retirement, he took some 30,000 specimens (he wasn’t able to take it all) to Texas with him. They were later returned in 2013, the year I started working there.

What does leadership mean to you? 

Leadership means putting together a cohesive and capable team of people that are motivated and encouraged to do their best work; people who love their job and see it as more than a pay cheque. A leader should be there for their team, to give them direction and advice and they should be open, willing to listen and ready to help.

Are you and your family at risk of Q fever infection?

NSW Health is warning people to get vaccinated and to take other steps to prevent Q fever, as drought and high winds may increase the risk of the disease spreading.

Q fever is a serious illness which often appears like a severe flu, with high fevers and chills, sweating, severe headaches, muscle and joint pains and extreme fatigue. Chronic lethargy can remain for months after treatment. In severe cases, Q fever can cause hepatitis or pneumonia.  

Q fever is a bacterial infection which is carried by cattle, sheep and goats, as well as native and some domesticated animals. It is caused by inhaling dust particles contaminated by infected animal secretions. 

People who are in direct contact with farm animals, some domestic pets and wildlife are at risk of contracting Q fever. This particularly includes workers in occupations such as livestock and dairy farmers, farm workers, shearers, wool classers, stockyard workers and veterinary staff. Family members of workers are also at risk as the bacteria can be carried on farm tools or work clothes and brought into the family home. 

People who live close to farming areas may be at risk of infection through indirect contact with infected animals, such as by breathing in contaminated dust.

Vaccination is the best protection against Q fever 

The Q fever vaccine (Q-VAX®) is the best way to prevent infection. Vaccination is highly recommended for people who work or intend to work in high-risk occupations. Vaccination is also recommended for everyone aged 15 years and over who has the potential to be exposed to Q fever at home or locations they plan to visit. 

People should also take the following steps to protect against Q fever:

washing hands and arms thoroughly in soapy water after any contact with animals

wearing a properly fitting P2 mask when handling or disposing of animal products or when mowing or gardening in areas with livestock or native animal droppings

wearing protective clothing and thick gloves when working with high-risk animals or animal products

removing and washing dirty clothing, coveralls, boots and equipment in outdoor wash areas to prevent exposing other household residents

washing animal urine, faeces, blood and other body fluids from equipment and surfaces and properly disposing of animal tissues including birth by-products.

For more information on Q fever, ask your GP or go to the NSW Health website.

Lupin disease eradicated in NSW

NSW has been declared free from lupin anthracnose disease following a successful eradication program led by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

Lupin anthracnose is a fungal disease of lupin plants, which can lead to complete crop losses in susceptible varieties. 

In October 2016, the serious disease was detected for the first time in commercial crops in the NSW Riverina region.

DPI Plant Biosecurity Director, Dr Satendra Kumar said early detection aided in the rapid response and subsequent eradication of the disease.  

“We commenced work immediately with Local Land Services, Riverina lupin growers  and industry advisers to restrict the disease to a small number of properties,” Dr Kumar said. 

“A response plan was developed and a lupin anthracnose biosecurity management zone was established, restricting the planting of lupins within the zone during the eradication response. 

“We undertook a case by case assessment of the infected crops to contain and control the disease, followed by ongoing surveillance, within the zone and across NSW for two growing seasons.

“As a result, I am pleased to be able to now officially declare, that due to no recurrence of the disease, the pest has been eradicated.  

“Our partnership with industry was critical to the eradication efforts and ultimately spared NSW from the ravages of this disease.”

Lupin anthracnose is a notifiable plant pest in NSW. 

The most obvious symptom in lupins is bending and twisting of stems, known as the “shepherds crook”.

Lupin growers and industry advisers must immediately report suspected cases to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881 or by completing the online reporting form.

New recruits boost community awareness of invasive pests

We all know cane toads are toadally unwelcome in NSW, except these little toads who are being used to help teach NSW residents about the risks of invasive species, and how to identify and report sightings of them.

DPI has recently commissioned taxidermied cane toads and red-eared slider turtle models to distribute to NSW DPI, LLS and Local Government to use as surveillance and education resources at community get-togethers, school visits, field days, training days and presentations.

The cane toad is a serious invasive pest that is tough and adaptable as well as being poisonous throughout its life cycle. It can carry diseases that can be spread to native frogs and fish which can devastate our native wildlife and ecosystems.

The red-eared slider turtle is a high risk non-native invasive species that can colonise new areas very quickly and out-compete native turtles for food, breeding and basking sites.  Wild populations of red-eared slider turtles have been reported in the Greater Sydney region. The species is illegally traded as a pet and often escapes or is deliberately released into creeks, rivers or park ponds where it poses a major risk to our ecosystems.  

Encouraging the community to correctly identify and report cane toads and red-eared slider turtles is crucial. The sooner we detect these invasive critters, the sooner we can launch a collaborative response to contain or even eradicate them. 

Being able to correctly identify these invasive pests also helps to ensure that we protect our native frogs and turtles from harm in the event that they are mistaken for a cane toad or red eared slider turtle.

Stopping the spread of frogbit in NSW

John and his family were visiting a cafe in Bulahdelah when his 10 year old son who is passionate about leaves and nature spotted a different looking plant growing in the water feature. 

The following week when John returned to work, he glanced at his 'A busy life' weed control calendar and recognised the feature weed for that month was the same as what they had seen at the cafe. John immediately reported his finding to the Biosecurity Helpline.

Following John's report, NSW DPI confirmed it was Frogbit - a serious invasive weed. Together with Mid Coast Council they quickly began surveillance work and developed a control strategy to minimise the spread. 

Because of John's quick action the plant has now been removed from the cafe and three nearby ponds. John has helped stop this serious biosecurity threat to NSW.

More information