You can carry pests or diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or other animal diseases, on your clothing and footwear, or vehicles and equipment. Please take the simple and practical steps below to meet your general biosecurity duty, and help keep FMD out of Australia and Tasmania.
Disinfection only reliably works if the item is clean, because diseases can survive disinfection hidden in mud and dirt. Cleaning and then disinfection are both important steps in decontamination.
Methods of disinfection include registered chemical disinfectants, hot water and UV light (sunlight). Different diseases respond to different methods of disinfection. The following advice is for FMD but is appropriate for a range of other threats. Please contact Biosecurity Tasmania (details below) for further advice regarding specific diseases.
Travelling back from FMD-infected countries (including Indonesia)?
Footwear and outdoor equipment
Remove any bulk mud or dirt with a brush or boot pick, then clean thoroughly with hot water (~75˚C) if possible and detergent.
Make sure there is no mud or dirt visible in the tread or on the sides of the shoes, laces or Velcro, rinse off detergent and allow to dry.
Once dry, check if footwear and equipment is still dirty. If needed, wash again.
Use a disinfectant for FMD on your shoes or equipment once they have been thoroughly cleaned if they had been used in areas with higher FMD risk (eg if you interacted with livestock).
Clothing
Ensure clothing is free from any build-up of mud or dirt.
Soiled clothing, or clothing that has been worn in rural or agricultural areas of FMD-infected countries should be washed with detergent on a heavy wash cycle, and fully dried in the sun or a hot dryer.
Other items
Remove any bulk mud or dirt with a brush or similar, then clean thoroughly with hot water (~75˚C) if possible and detergent.
Rinse off detergent or allow to dry.
Use a disinfectant for FMD on your items once they have been thoroughly cleaned.
If you have clothing, footwear, or equipment that you suspect to be a carrier of FMD, and you have no facility to adequately clean and disinfect the items, they should be left behind and not brought to Australia or Tasmania.
For more information on the current restrictions for bringing items back to Tasmania, please see our webpage Current Biosecurity Alerts, or alternatively Travelling to Tasmania from Indonesia or Bali.
Acceptable disinfecting agents for FMD include Virkon™ or citric acid (see table below*). More detailed information about decontamination for emergency animal diseases can be found in the AUSVETPLAN Decontamination Manual.
Citric acid
| Footbaths, surface cleaning
| 30g/L
| 15 mins for non-porous surfaces, 30 mins for porous surfaces.
|
Citric acid
| Clothing, equipment, general use
| 2g/L
| 15 mins
|
Virkon™
| Machinery, clothing, surface cleaning
| 10g/L
| At least 10 mins, for surfaces apply at a rate of 1-1.5mL/m2
|
*Table adapted from Permit PER83649 and AUSVETPLAN Decontamination Manual. Please read product label instructions and follow safety precautions.
Decontamination information for primary producers
You should regularly clean and decontaminate agricultural equipment and machinery, especially when it has been moved or is moving to a new facility or property. This process should be included in your farm biosecurity plan.
If you do not have a farm biosecurity plan, it is strongly recommended that you put one in place. More information on farm biosecurity planning can be found on the webpage Farm Biosecurity.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is not present in Australia. However, as it is established in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and is a significant threat to our livestock industries, the following information includes some advice specific to FMD.
For business-as-usual farm operations, you should use general disinfectant as recommended by your veterinarian or rural supplier. To disinfect against FMD, citric acid is preferred. VirkonTM can be used for both business-as-usual and FMD disinfection operations. These recommendations have been obtained from the AUSVETPLAN Decontamination Manual. For suggested dilutions, see table above. Virkon should be used with care on metal surfaces as it can cause corrosion.
Agricultural equipment, machinery and vehicles
Make sure there is a designated wash bay or washdown site for cleaning equipment or machinery just inside the property gate.
In a designated wash bay or washdown facility, remove any large clumps of mud, dirt, or other organic material.
Thoroughly clean equipment or machinery with a high-pressure washer. If possible, chose a high-pressure washer that uses hot water and detergents.
Once clean, consider using a disinfecting agent for FMD on ‘high-risk’ areas of your equipment or machinery. High risk areas on vehicles include as tires or tracks, and wheel arches.
Always follow disinfectant label instructions, including safety information and contact time.
Visitors
Visitors should wear clean, protective clothing and visibly clean boots when arriving at your property.
Consider providing dedicated footwear and/or protective clothing that doesn’t leave your property for visitors to use (gumboots for example).
Disinfectant for FMD can be applied to boots with visibly clean tread, via a foot bath or foot mat. Use a boot pick and/or scrubbing brush to remove any mud or dirt before disinfecting boots.
For further resources on meeting your general biosecurity duty, see the links below:
At any time you suspect an emergency animal disease, please call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline: 1800 675 888 (all hours).