This project was an extension of an earlier scoping project CRC30014 that developed software to collect surveillance data via small personal digital assistants (PDA) devices.
The software developed enhances the conformity and integrity of data collected during urban surveillance activities.

There were two central aims of the second phase project. The first was the delivery of the urban surveillance software to a greater number of surveillance personnel as well as mapping the best method for the integration of collected data into national initiatives such as The Australian Biosecurity Intelligence Network (ABIN) and Biosecurity Surveillance Incident Response and Tracing (BioSIRT).

The second aim of the project was to provide the post-harvest grains industry with a system to digitally collect and collate all grains pests surveillance information (presence/absence of emergency plant pests (EPPs), resistance to phosphine and fumigation/treatment records).

The project introduced a system that provides for seamless digital collection and collation of all surveillance related biosecurity information for the post-harvest grains industry. The system has built in checks to ensure data integrity and it is proposed that collected data may also directly interface with BioSIRT. This means it has the capacity to easily interface with other compliant (national and other) systems and also provides a development path into the future, which could include initiatives like ABIN.

This project allows the rapid and efficient use of all surveillance data to maintain and protect markets for the Australian grains and potentially other agricultural/horticultural industries.

Research outcomes:

PDA Phase Two project successfully developed and deployed six main applications:

• Biosecurity hazard site surveillance
• Multi-pest surveillance (MPS, BioSIRT compatible)
• Khapra beetle surveillance
• Forest plantation pest surveys (IPMG)
• MyPestGuide mobile pest datasheets
• Urban plant pest surveillance (USDB)
  • Dermestid surveillance
  • Stored grain ecology studies
  • European wasp surveillance
  • Exotic dung beetle surveys
  • Locust surveys
  • Tramp ant surveys

The Urban Surveillance Database was built with generic plant biosecurity surveillance in mind and has been adapted for a number of diverse projects. It services the popular need for recording property and contact details, one-is-to-many geo-located and barcoded activities (including digital image), one-is-to-many inspections of activities, one-is-to-many specimen details can be added with barcoded specimen labels and photograph.

Field-collected data are synchronised (two-way data transfer) from anywhere in the world via GPRS, WiFi to a wireless server hosted at DAFWA where it is available for further analysis and reporting.

Smartphone pest identification tools have become popular and can be used in conjunction with USDB to ensure rapid field recognition of potential Emergency Plant Pests. This project developed two database-driven smartphone apps (MyPestGuide & PestWeb Mobile). Individual pest records are added on the wireless server and pushed out to devices. These smartphone identification tools can be deployed as a shell for overseas users, or pre-populated with quarantine pests of significance.

Collaboration with CRC for Forestry resulted in development of the mobile software solution, called IPMG Plantation Health. This software allows foresters to quickly and accurately record pest and disease outbreaks in the field, including; the date of the observation, the extent and severity of any damage caused, GPS co-ordinates and photos. The software also includes brief weed and pest field guides to aid foresters with correct identification in the field. 

Research implications:

A high proportion of Australia’s agricultural produce is exported and demonstration of freedom from certain plant pests and diseases is critical to maintaining and securing new market access opportunities. Pest surveillance is an important tool for market access and accordingly importing countries now demand accurate, credible evidence to confirm pest freedom status.

In the past nearly all field-collected plant biosecurity surveillance information was recorded manually to paper reducing the rate of capture, integrity, conformity as well as security of the data. There is a growing need for plant pest surveillance data collection software and hardware that uses smartphones to provide auditing validation, ‘chain of evidence’ as well as increasing the volume of data collected and its integrity through relational databases and seamless data transfer to corporate systems. Smartphone data integrity is supported by GPS-located traps, digital voice navigation itineraries, time and date stamps, field printed barcode labels, site and pest imagery.

Pest identification tools delivered via smartphones are an important tool that allows immediate identification of potential biosecurity threats in the field.

Acknowledgements:

The following CRCNPB participants provided constructive criticism during development of the applications; Michelle Chami, David Cousins, Oonagh Byrne, Marc Widmer, Richard Johnston, Mike Grimm, Peter Gillespie, Deborah Kent, Cain Roberts, Paul Pheloung, Greg Hood, Steve Pratt and Deb Riddell.

Brian McCornack (KSU), Gordon Gordh (USDA) provided a useful US perspective.

Francisco Tovar (CRC Forestry/ Murdoch University) designed the IPMG application. Peter Davis demonstrated the potential for USDB in ant surveys on Barrow Island.

Airport Forensics was a joint project with Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). This project defined the plant pathogen incursion risk posed by people returning from overseas and interstate travel. This was achieved through the development of technically sound sample/survey methodologies.

The project initially focused on cereal rusts. An assessment of the level of human mediated rust entries into Australia was determined through the sampling of travellers who have been known to have visited grain production regions overseas. Pathogen types examined included air-borne pathogens such as rusts and powdery mildews, and soil-borne pathogens such as Fusarium wilt.

The project also increased the awareness and education of both international and domestic travellers about the risks of spreading plant pathogens on hair, clothing and footwear if they are not cleaned appropriately.

Research outcomes:

A forensic kit was developed that can be used by field staff and international travellers for testing their clothing for the presence of fungal spores. The protocol developed for processing the kit has a > 85% extraction efficiency rate.

The physical properties of fabric that are used to make clothes influence the donor and recipient properties of the clothes. This refers to the ability of the clothes in collecting spores, carrying them and releasing them. Experimental work demonstrated that there is an interaction between spore morphology and the type of fabric.

Experimental work demonstrated that washing the fabric does not remove all of the spores that are present in or on the fabric.

Samples from DAFWA staff that had been working in the field were collected and processed. Samples were also collected from field staff working in NSW, QLD and SA. These samples were processed using the above protocol and then split into three subsamples for analysis. The analysis was done by microscopy, PCR and mass spectrometry.

The use of mass spectrometry to identify fungal spores was successfully demonstrated. Eighteen different fungal pathogens were tested and then identified using blind samples.

The development of a real-time multiplex PCR for the detection of wheat, stem and stripe rust was used successfully to detect and identify these rusts on staff that had been working in the field. There was a reasonable correlation between the microscopy results and the PCR results. The use of mass spectrometry on these samples was not successful due to the low number of spores present in the samples.

Samples were collected from GRDC travel scholarship recipients. The results showed that fungal spores were detected and identified using microscopy and PCR methods.
The research has shown that clothing can realistically provide a pathway for the introduction of fungal pathogens into Australia and within Australia. However, the viability of these spores are not known and will need to be determined.

Research implications:

The research implications from this scoping study, is that awareness of this pathway needs to be raised and does exist. Further work needs to be done to clarify the risk associated with this pathway.

Results from this work have been presented at Global Biosecurity Conference in Brisbane in 2010, and the CRCNPB Science Exchange in Barossa Valley in 2011.

Two refereed publications will be submitted by June 2011.

Numerous articles of the work have been published in the press and in the GRDC GroundCover Biosecurity supplement.

Acknowledgements:

The team would like to thank GRDC and the CRCNPB for supporting and funding such an interesting project.

We would also like to thank Ms Alana Wilkes for her hard work on the mass spectrometry work. Mrs Mirjana Banovic, Mrs Annette Bwye, and Mrs Val McGann for the processing of the forensic tape samples for analysis.

Photo caption: Forensic kit provided to travellers to test for fungal spores on clothing.

Photo acknowledgement: The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia
 

This is a joint research project with Grains Research and Development Corporation.

 

There are increasing international concerns about food quality and safety. Import requirements are becoming more demanding and exporters including Australia now need not only to declare they are free from plant and animal pests and diseases, but they need to demonstrate it too. As a result, pest surveillance has become a critical tool to secure market access. Exporting countries now need to provide accurate, credible data with evidentiary chain to confirm freedom status.

Research outcomes

Technical equipment like Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have emerged as a powerful tool not only to collect information but also to improve the quality and application of the data collected. Cooperative Research centre for National Plant Biosecurity (CRCNPB) PDA software developed with Visual CE was successfully tested during the 2007 post-border detection of Khapra beetle in suburban Western Australia by providing evidence of complete eradication via 1,273 trap inspections. This achievement was supported by GPS-located traps, digital voice navigation itineraries, digital time and date stamps, field printed barcode labels, site imagery, Google Maps integration all in a single hand-held unit.
 

New PDA hardware and software continues to be developed by the CRCNPB for use in other pest surveillance activities. These include hazard site pest surveillance, stored grain fumigation monitoring, grain insect resistance testing and fruit fly phenology studies. 

Research implications

Australia remains committed to World Trade Organization agreements, sanitary and phytosanitary agreements, the International Plant Protection Convention and international sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  We recognises the need for quarantine plant pest surveillance data of the utmost integrity is essential to support area freedom negotiations.
 

With most of Australia’s agriculture produce exported, securing and maintaining market access is critical as is the need to demonstrate freedom from certain plant and animal pests and diseases. Surveillance is an important tool for securing market access and as discussed exporting countries now need to provide accurate, credible evidence to confirm absence (i.e known not to occur) for pest freedom status.
 

This CRCNPB project focused on the development of pest surveillance data collection software and hardware using hand-held computers or PDAs. This approach provides chain of evidence control, increases the volume of data collected as well as its integrity through relational databases and seamless data transfer to corporate systems.

Acknowledgements

Damian Shepherd, Iain Martin, John Bruce (Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) Spatial Information Systems) and Bob Vassallo (DAFWA Animal Biosecurity) provided technical input. Department of Fisheries and Forestry Surveillance Reference Group participants collaborated with beta testing the Urban Surveillance application; Peter Gillespie, Deborah Kent, Craig Murdoch, Tony Monteith, Rebecca Yarrow, Bruce Baker, Wayne Marshall, Russell Elliott, Megan Szczerbanik, Nita Ramsden, James Swan, Heather Wallace, Richard Johnston, Cain Roberts, Melanie Hay, Jo Slattery, Sharyn Taylor, Stephen Dibley, Paul Pheloung, Gareth Men, Greg Hood, Debra Riddell, Peter Frecklington. Shirani Poogoda (DAFWA) beta tested the Fruit Fly Phenology application. Ern Kostas (CBH Group) beta tested the Grain Fumigation application. Peter Davis (DAFWA) beta tested with ant surveys on Christmas and Norfolk Islands.

Click here for the second phase of this project