Biosecurity system reforms and the development of a risk-based surveillance and pathway analysis system for ornamental fish imported into Australia
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1
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Australia
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2
Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risks Analysis, Australia
The ornamental fish trade in Australia has an estimated value of $350 million and is heavily reliant on imports. Up to 20 million ornamental fish are imported from 26 approved countries each year (Department of Agriculture 2014). This live animal trade poses challenges for the effective management of biosecurity risks. For ornamental fish, a comprehensive risk assessment requires information on a wide variety of disease agents, their prevalence in a large number of known host species (over 2000 species traded internationally) from many overseas regions (over 140 countries trade in ornamental fish internationally). There is so much that is unknown about aquatic animal diseases within this framework, particularly due to changing patterns in disease epidemiology and the prevalence of new emerging diseases.
The import conditions for ornamental fish are based on the “Import Risk Analysis on Live Ornamental Finfish” (Kahn et al. 1999). These conditions include post-arrival visual inspection and quarantine isolation of the imported fish consignments. Reviews of this biosecurity system (Department of Agriculture 2012) and the recent import risk analysis (IRA) of Gourami iridovirus in freshwater ornamental fish (Department of Agriculture 2014), indicated that the system did not fully manage risks associated with fish that were sub-clinically infected with diseases such as megalocytiviruses. Nor did it adequately address the risks posed by emerging diseases. Another major area of concern is the adequacy of the current system in dealing with emerging diseases overseas that could have significant impact on Australian fish populations – emerging diseases tend to occur more frequently in the aquaculture sector (which includes ornamental fish) than in traditional livestock species.
In response to these findings, the subsequent reforms to Australia’s biosecurity system have placed a greater emphasis on managing biosecurity risks off-shore at the source (Department of Agriculture 2012). At the heart of the new approach is an on-arrival surveillance system that is able to verify, on an ongoing basis, that source fish populations meet Australia’s health requirements and that non-compliances with overseas systems are identified effectively (Robinson and Hood 2015; Hood and Perera 2016).
This presentation describes the department’s current initiatives to address increased risks in real-time while facilitating safe trade. The department is developing an innovative real-time, responsive risk-based surveillance capability to detect systemic failures on the part of the animal health authorities. The risk-based surveillance and pathway analysis system will be used to monitor the exporting country’s compliance with the import conditions as attested to in the health certification that accompanies each consignment. The system works by allowing the department to identify high-risk pathways and address the respective commercial parties, by fostering a cooperative relationship with our trading partners and by sharing evidence-based information so that they can address risks at source. It follows the government’s broader biosecurity reform agenda that aims to target our resources to the areas of higher biosecurity risk (Beale 2008).
The ornamental fish surveillance program is trialing a risk-based sampling algorithm on ornamental fish imported into Australia and test for megalocytiviruses, spring viraemia of carp virus and Aeromonas salmonicida. The pathogens of concern are determined based on the two ornamental fish import risk analyses (Kahn et al 1999; Department of Agriculture 2014). The system uses the continuous sampling plan (CSP) algorithm, originally developed by industrial statisticians in the 1940's (Dodge 1943). The algorithm automatically chooses the level of intervention and maintains separate test results for each pathway. The CSP allows targeting of resources to higher risk pathways, but also rewards good compliance, providing an incentive for importers.
Data from several trials will be presented to show that the application of the CSP is effective in detecting and responding quickly to changes in biosecurity risks. Data have also been shared with exporting countries’ authorities as real-time feedback.
The information generated by the verification surveillance system will be quantitative and semi-quantitative in nature and will form the basis of our response to detect systematic non-compliances by overseas authorities. Evidence collected through the ongoing analysis of surveillance data will become the basis of our real-time feedback to overseas authorities for remedial action at source. Delays in resolving non-compliance issues could result in the suspension of off-shore equivalent measures from particular sources.
As aquatic animal trade increases, Australia has now increasingly been requested by trading partners to employ evidence-based biosecurity measures. On-going research projects provide the department with a means to monitor the performance of the overseas trading partners and strengthen our abilities in identifying changes in risk interception data. The system will keep sampling and intervention rates optimized and adjust flexibly to reflect the biosecurity risks presenting at the border. It will also provide methods to deal with higher risk pathways. This approach aids in the continual improvement of sustainable aquatic animal health controls across the biosecurity continuum.
References
Beale R. (2008) One Biosecurity – a working partnership. The independent review of Australia’s quarantine and biosecurity arrangements report to the Australian Government. 30 September 2008
Department of Agriculture (2012) Biosecurity Advice 2012-23: Trial of a proposed new system for managing the biosecurity risks of imported ornamental fish. Viewed at: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/risk-analysis/ira/current-animal/ornamental-finfish
Department of Agriculture (2014) Importation of freshwater ornamental fish: review of biosecurity Risks associated with gourami iridovirus and related viruses – Final import risk analysis report. Department of Agriculture, Canberra, 8 September 2014.
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, 2016. Finalised Animal IRAs. Accessed on 27 May 2016: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/risk-analysis/ira/final-animal
Dodge F. (1943) A sampling plan for continuous production. Annals of Mathematical Statistics. 14, 3, 264-279.
Hood Y. and Perera R.P. (2016) Ornamental Fish Importation – Australia’s New Approach to Managing Biosecurity Risks. Proceedings of 9th Symposium on Disease in Asian Aquaculture. Fish pathology 51 (Special Issue), S1 – S6, 2016. Viewed at: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsfp/51/Special-issue/51_S1/_pdf
Kahn S.A., Wilson D.W., Perera R.P., Hayder H. and Gerrity S.E. (1999) Import Risk analysis on Live Ornamental Finfish. Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, Canberra, July 1999.
Robinson A. and Hood Y. (2015) Risk-Based Management for Imported Ornamental Finfish. Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA) Report 1305A, April 28 2015. Viewed at: http://cebra.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1637974/1305A-Final-Report.pdf
Keywords:
biosecurity measures,
ornamental fish,
import,
import risk analysis,
histopathological analysis,
surveillance database,
Syndromic surveillance,
emerging disease
Conference:
AquaEpi I - 2016, Oslo, Norway, 20 Sep - 22 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Oral
Topic:
Aquatic Animal Epidemiology
Citation:
Hood
Y,
Starkey
C,
Sadler
J,
Poldy
J and
Robinson
A
(2016). Biosecurity system reforms and the development of a risk-based surveillance and pathway analysis system for ornamental fish imported into Australia.
Front. Vet. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
AquaEpi I - 2016.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FVETS.2016.02.00057
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Received:
30 May 2016;
Published Online:
14 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Yuko Hood, Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Canberra City, ACT, 2601, Australia, yuko.hood@agriculture.gov.au