Rod laver arena, Arena in the City of Melbourne, Australia

Sydney, Aug 23 Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) will invest more than 120 million Australian dollars (nearly $83 million) in biosecurity measures to help combat animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease.The state government announced on Monday that the investment will deliver 65 million Australian dollars (nearly $45 million) for the development of mRNA synthetic vaccines for both the FMD and lumpy skin disease, Xinhua news agency reported.It will also include 55.8 million Australian dollars (nearly $38 million) for a response workforce, disease surveillance and on-ground biosecurity risk mitigation and preparedness activities, such as controlling potential infected premises and incentivising farmers to beef up their biosecurity measures.Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Paul Toole said current FMD vaccines are made using the virus itself, meaning if Australia wants to regain FMD-free status after an outbreak, some vaccinated animals still need to be destroyed ."The development of a synthetic mRNA vaccine could be the key for Australia to apply for FMD-free status without having to destroy vaccinated animals.""We need to be prepared to fight and eradicate any exotic pest and disease that arrives on our shores," said NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders."Our farmers deserve to have the confidence to know that if we have an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease."The FMD, which attacks cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, goats and sheep, has been detected in the neighbouring Indonesia, raising concerns that the highly contagious animal disease may spread to Australia for the first time in more than 130 years.Australia has taken biosecurity measures, including deploying more biosecurity officers at airports and mail centers, risk-profiling 100 per cent of passengers arriving from Indonesia, and using sanitation foot mats in all international airports, in efforts to fend off the FMD.Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Rod Laver ArenaFOLLOW

Rod laver arena, Latest News

Canberra, Aug 26 Australian tourism operators have revealed the international market still need time to rebound about half ... ...

Canberra, Aug 25 As Austral struggle with an ongoing multi-decade high inflation, the nation's largest supermarkets have begun ... ...

Adelaide, Aug 25 Big-hitting batter Chris Lynn will feature in the Big Bash League (BBL) after being signed ... ...

Canberra, Aug 25 Australian flag carrier Qantas on Thursday reported its third consecutive loss of more than A$1 ... ...

Melbourne, Aug 24 Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist believes Afghanistan's charismatic spinner Rashid Khan could start a bidding ... ...

Union Education Minister who is on a four day visit to Australia participated in 'Dialogue with Group of Eight' which is a research collaboration between India and Australia at University House in Melbourne today. ...

Canberra, Aug 23 The lingering impacts of Covid-19 pandemic in Australia were felt more severely by women in ... ...

Sydney, Aug 23 Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) will invest more than 120 million Australian dollars ... ...