Wagga's Charles Sturt University trains East Timor border officials to combat Foot and Mouth Disease biosecurity threat

This week a delegation of quarantine officials from East Timor (Timor-Leste) were in town undertaking a crucial biosecurity course at the university's new Biosecurity Training Centre.

Professor David Mackay said the training aims to help the island nation improve awareness and to keep out dangerous diseases such as foot and mouth disease.

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Professor Mackay said 10 workers from East Timor's quarantine service undertook the "capacity builder train the trainer course."

He said the course is designed to train some officials who then return home and train up many more.

The course is a partnership between CSU's Biosecurity Training Centre and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Professor Mackay said the course was prompted after the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Indonesia last year, but also looks at lumpy skin disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

"Myself and another academic in the Biosecurity Training Centre went over to Timor-Leste in January to do a training needs analysis where we visited airports, ports and border crossings," he said.

"From that we developed a program looking at lifting their capability in terms of operational biosecurity management."

While live animals are often seen as the main risk for bringing in diseases, Professor Mackay said they can come in via other means, including from cattle trucks.

"We talked about the pathways that those disease can be transmitted and it's not necessarily just via animals," he said.

"It can also be meat products, hides and even cattle trucks.

"In Indonesia and Timor, trucks can carry cattle and then they go on and carry something else."

While East Timor is so far free from FMD, it shares a land border with Indonesia which has not been so fortunate.

In a month's time, the centre will also welcome a delegation from Indonesia, who will be trained up to better combat that outbreak.

"We will have 10 Indonesian quarantine service officials commencing another program here on May 27," Professor Mackay said.

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