Download Technical Advice: Likelihood of foot-and-mouth disease virus spread via milk tankers and milk tanker drivers in non-restricted places during an outbreak in New Zealand

The Technical Advice was carried out by the Ministry for Primary Industries to support foot and mouth disease (FMD) preparedness improvement including updating the milk collection policy. The likelihood assessment examined the potential spread of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) from one dairy farm to the next through the movement of a milk tanker and driver from one farm dairy to the next for milk collection. The assessment examined the pathways by which milk tanker, driver, clothes and footwear could be contaminated with slurry, milk and bioaerosols containing FMDV when entering and exiting an infected by undetected dairy farm, during milk collection activity, and travel to the next farm. The likelihoods of milk tanker and driver, clothing and footwear being contaminated with FMDV, acting as fomites and further spreading FMDV to animals during travel to, and to the new destination farm were assessed to be very low.