Northern Australia's ability to respond quickly to suspected exotic disease outbreaks has been significantly boosted with the development of a rugged, easy-to-deploy mobile research laboratory.
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Developed in the wake of both foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin disease outbreaks in Indonesia, the purpose built trailer will provide a crush-side laboratory where blood and other DNA samples can be quickly analysed using precision equipment, with the information shared in real time with other animal disease management professionals.
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries agricultural systems mechatronic engineer Paul Stewart told a Beef 2024 seminar that the mobile laboratory had been designed to "go where required" in Queensland while protecting the testing equipment and providing a suitable workspace for technicians.
Mr Stewart said careful thought and plenty of consultation had gone into the design of the unit and how it could be deployed, given the remoteness of northern parts of Queensland where disease incursions were thought to be initially be more likely.
"We chose to repurpose an existing off-the-shelf work trailer that offers a good workspace with plenty of storage for all the equipment that is required," Mr Stewart said.
"We've made the unit as self contained as possible, knowing it could be potentially have to be sent to some pretty remote locations."
The mobile research laboratory is the latest tool in combating both exotic diseases on Australia's doorstep and convention diseases, including the already widely spread bovine ephemeral fever or three day sickness.
Mr Stewart said one of the challenges of identifying and managing disease outbreaks was the limited number of vets and trained staff in the field but could be improved through digital technology.
The wet season, which could make access to northern cattle properties and livestock extremely difficult for up to a four month period each year, was another.
He said work was being done to develop more rapid, user friendly testing systems that were sensitive to low level detections in blood or other DNA samples, which provided on site recording and reporting and could be linked to a clinician.
Artificial intelligence was also likely to play a major role. A 96 test tube AI colour reader was being used to differentiate between positive and negative with a far higher degree of accuracy that the human eye, he said.
CSIRO estimates a multi-state FMD outbreak could cost the Australian economy up to $50 billion over 10 years, primarily due to trade restrictions.
LSD would also be devastating, estimated at costing $7.4b in the first year.
