East Timor in Foot and Mouth scare

By RICHARD BAKER
RURAL REPORTER

Thursday 29 March 2001

The Federal Government is sending a senior Agriculture Department officer to East Timor to examine claims made by a United Nations agriculture director that the nation is infected with foot-and-mouth disease.
The announcement comes after last week's comments by UN director Serge Verniau, who said that foot-and-mouth disease was "probably in East Timor".
Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said the government was confident that East Timor was free of foot and mouth and that Mr Verniau's comments had no foundation.
Mr Truss said he had asked Australia's Director of Quarantine to seek an explanation from Mr Verniau and other senior UN staff.
"I have also arranged for a senior officer from my department to travel to East Timor to further investigate and talk to the UN people about this matter. I also note that Mr Verniau has subsequently confirmed that he has no evidence to support his claims," he said.
"The federal government is taking the quarantine risks associated with our involvement in East Timor very seriously.
"While there is no evidence of FMD in East Timor, the harrowing pictures we have seen from the United Kingdom reinforces the need for the UN, as the agency responsible for currently managing the quarantine integrity of East Timor, to ensure there is no risk of FMD establishing in East Timor."
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service said it had carried out a disease survey in East Timor in July, 2000 which showed no evidence of foot and mouth.
AQIS officials said yesterday that even if the disease was found in East Timor, it would not travel to Australia.
"East Timor has many other dangerous diseases that we do not want in Australia, so all defence staff and equipment coming back from East Timor into Australia are given a 100 per cent screening," an AQIS spokesman said.
The spokesman also said that AQIS and the government had been angered by Mr Verniau's comments.

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