Barbados urged to maintain vigilance against animal, foodborne diseases

Barbados must maintain strong surveillance, testing and biosecurity systems to protect food security and public health from animal and foodborne diseases that can spread across borders, Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Trotman has warned.

Dr Trotman told Barbados TODAY that the absence of an outbreak did not mean the threat had disappeared.

He said: “African swine fever… is an ever present threat to the Caribbean, because the disease has not been eradicated from the region since it was first identified in the Dominican Republic years ago. 

“It’s still there, and it’s still very virulent, it’s still very contagious. We have to continue keeping up our guard with that.”

Dr Trotman was speaking as a workshop was held on rapid response to African Swine Fever. The workshop, held at the Hilton Barbados Resort on Tuesday, was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), among others.

Some of the workshop participants from across the region. (Photo credit: Shamar Blunt / Barbados TODAY)

Trotman also identified highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, as an “ever-present threat”, particularly because migratory birds travel through the Caribbean every year.

He added: “This disease has moved from trade associated disease now to a migratory bird mediated disease and because migratory birds pass through the Caribbean region seasonally every year, they do present a risk of that disease being introduced into Barbados.”

Barbados must therefore maintain its surveillance and control mechanisms, while remaining alert to other diseases that are not currently present in the region, Dr Trotman suggested.

Foot-and-mouth disease is another major concern, along with screwworm disease, with the vet chief describing its spread through South America, Central America and into the United States as “alarming”.

The United States has experienced a series of significant foodborne disease outbreaks over the past year, involving pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter.

The outbreaks have been linked to foods including leafy greens, fresh berries, raw milk cheeses, ready-to-eat pasta salads and undercooked poultry, with some spreading across multiple states and triggering nationwide recalls.

For Dr Trotman, those developments underscore why Barbados must not become complacent.

“What people don’t usually recognise is that there are constantly risks associated with the consumption of food, any food, in particular the foods of animal origin. 

“A robust surveillance and testing system is always necessary.”

But maintaining that protection requires resources, he warned.

“At times what happens is that we let our guard down,” Trotman said. “Sometimes you get budgetary cuts, sometimes you get staffing cuts or staffing issues.”

These weaknesses could allow protective mechanisms to break down and create opportunities for outbreaks, he added.

“Even the best surveillance system is not completely foolproof and you get outbreaks happening.”

Dr Trotman said the island’s greatest protection was continued vigilance.

“We have to constantly make sure that our biosecurity mechanisms are maintained in spite of the apparent lack of outbreak in Barbados…the threat is always there.”

He added: “We have to keep our vigilance up.”

As diseases continue to cross borders, the chief veterinary officer warned that failures in biosecurity and regulatory controls could have serious consequences.

“We get these things happening because the threat is always there, and it’s usually a break in the biosecurity mechanisms or the regulatory controls that we have in place that causes these outbreaks.” 

(SB)