The Ministry of Agriculture says livestock diseases could be linked to human infections.

However, authorities have not yet found scientific evidence to confirm the connection.

The issue surfaced during scrutiny of the Public Health (Amendment) Bill after Opposition MP Alipate Tuicolo questioned what penalties should apply to livestock farmers operating near waterways if a zoonotic disease outbreak occurred and what measures would prevent similar outbreaks.

Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Andrew Tukana said Fiji continues to record bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis in cattle, while human tuberculosis cases have also been increasing.

“But whether that increase in the cases of bovine tuberculosis in humans is from bovine tuberculosis or actual human tuberculosis we still need to find that link so I don’t know how much in terms of analysis has been done but we still don’t see that link but there’s a suspect that it can also be some of the cases happening in humans can also be from from uh livestock cattle but we still need to find out whether that is actually bovine or human so that is the issue at the moment and there needs to be more work done around that.”

Tukana points out that there is “a suspect” that some human infections may have originated from livestock, but stressed more diagnostic testing and analysis are needed before that can be confirmed.

He also warned that leptospirosis remains a major concern, particularly among farm workers who regularly come into contact with animal urine and faeces without proper protective equipment.

Responding to Tuicolo’s concerns about prevention, a Ministry of Health representative said the Health Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Biosecurity Authority are already working together under a One Health approach to strengthen surveillance and control of zoonotic diseases.

The official said a national leptospirosis taskforce is coordinating inspections, outbreak responses and animal testing, while the three agencies are also looking at strengthening regulations to improve coordination and prevent future outbreaks.