Officers beef up security

Sunday, July 12, 2009
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Animal health and protection officer Binay Pratap sprays a vehicle at the quarantine checkpoint at Wainivesi, Tailevu, yesterday.
QUARANTINE and police officers have increased security at cattle farms where the brucellosis bacterium was found as they take shifts in manning the checkpoint monitoring the movement of vehicles to and from the infected farms.
Spokesman Joe Uluilakeba said the checkpoint set up at the entrance of infected farms would be manned by quarantine, police and livestock officers.
He said they would spray every vehicle that entered or exited any area where there were infected farms with an alcohol-based anti-bacterial spray. Mr Uluil-akeba said the officers, who had been appointed tempor-ary bio-security off-icers during this brucellosis emerg-ency operation, wo-uld be present at all checkpoints in qua-rantined areas 24 hours.
Director quarantine Hiagi Foraete said the chemicals used to spray the vehicles were to re-move the bacterium from soil on tyres.
Agriculture permanent secretary Dr Richard Beyers said the ministry had mobilised teams and organised training for farmers to educate them on the impact of brucellosis.