AS INCREASING numbers and species of animals are being farmed and their products transported globally, food safety is becoming a more complex issue than ever before.

Dr Stan Fenwick, Murdoch’s new lecturer in Public Health in the Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, is a specialist in preventing diseases passing from the paddock to the dinner plate.

Coming from a background of tropical veterinary medicine in Africa and the Middle East, with a brief stopover of 14 years in New Zealand, Dr Fenwick has been examining the role of animals in the transmission of diseases to humans (zoonotic diseases) for nearly 20 years.

“There are many organisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites, that animals can often carry without getting sick, but that have harmful effects on humans,” said Dr Fenwick.

“In some situations, however, these diseases can also be harmful to the animals, particularly when they are stressed by situations like the live sheep transport ships.

“I am interested in finding ways to reduce the levels of these organisms in their animal hosts, as well as in developing control methods to remove them during processing before they come into contact with humans.”

Dr Fenwick said that in addition to zoonotic diseases, other major public health issues included the use of antibiotics in farm animals and their effect on humans, both direct and indirect, and the disposal of farm and abbatoir effluent in the environment.

In his new position at Murdoch University Dr Fenwick will be focusing on these and other questions in an attempt to improve public health.