Cattle herds on a third Southland farm are likely to be tested for the presence of Mycoplasma bovis shortly, the Ministry for Primary Industries says. 

Currently, two Southland farms are undergoing testing for M. bovis under movement restrictions, after some of the cattle came into contact with animal movements in Canterbury. 

Ministry of Primary Industries M. bovis programme director, Stuart Anderson said there is no evidence of any confirmed cases of the disease in Southland, however, following the connection of the two Southland properties with Canterbury, it’s necessary that these farms are tested.

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“The movements of cattle from and to these properties are being worked through …the testing of the cattle in Southland is a routine check and there is no evidence so far of any outbreak,” he said.

“This is why good NAIT [National Animal Identification and Tracing] records are so important for farmers. They help trace movements of infected animals faster and stop the spread of the disease to other herds and other farms,” Mr Anderson said.

As of last week, the Ministry of Primary Industries confirmed there are two new active confirmed properties with M. bovis in Canterbury, bringing the total number to seven.

One of the active properties is a Canterbury/Ashburton property, directly linked by animal movements to an infected property detected from the programme’s August bulk tank milk screening.

The second property, in Canterbury/Selwyn district, was confirmed following a detected result from the September bulk milk screening.

Mr Anderson said these newly confirmed properties showed that the programme’s national surveillance was working as it should.

It was detecting possible cases and showing where to look to eliminate the infection, he said.

M.bovis is a bacteria that can cause a range of serious health conditions for cattle. PHOTO: Lucy Henry

Mr Anderson said the new cases of M. bovis in Canterbury did not mean there was an outbreak.

“The M. bovis programme is actively looking for these final pockets of infected properties and fully expected to find more over spring – it’s a time there are more samples to test, animals are under stress from calving and 2018 heifers are entering the milking platform for the first time,” he said.

The M.bovis bacteria is an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act 1993. For more information, check the ministry website HERE.