7. ACTION ON SUSPICION OF RING ROT
7.1 Ring rot may be suspected either on the basis of typical symptoms in tubers or potato plants, or as a result of a positive initial screening test.
7.2 Samples exhibiting suspicious symptoms must be notified to Science in advance of sending material. They should be sent by 1st class letter post or courier, marked 'URGENT', to Bacteriology, SASA, Roddinglaw Road, Edinburgh, EH12 9FJ. Strong, secure paper packaging should be used.
7.3 On obtaining a positive result from an initial screening test Science should immediately contact the relevant Area Office so that inspectors can take action at the premises from which the sample was taken.
7.4 Policy should also be informed immediately of any suspected outbreak. An Incident Management Team (IMT) will be formed including at least one officer from each of Policy, Operations and Science, as described in the Generic Contingency Plan, and further test results and actions should be communicated promptly to the IMT.
7.5 It is essential that biosecurity measures are scrupulously observed in dealing with any suspected outbreak of ring rot. Boots, leggings, knives etc must be regularly disinfected to prevent cross-contamination. The SEARS Biosecurity Protocol provides general guidance, but additional advice should be sought in line with Level 4 Biosecurity requirements.
7.6 When they identify suspect symptoms of ring rot, or are informed by Science of a positive screening test result, Operations must take the following action to prevent spread of the disease:
· Serve a Notice under Articles 32(4) and 39 of the Plant Health (Scotland) Order 2005 to prohibit movement of potato plants and tubers on and off the premises. In exceptional circumstances, conditions may be agreed by the IMT to allow potato plants or tubers to be moved under Notice, provided there is no identifiable risk of spreading the disease.
· Obtain full details of the origin of the plants and tubers to trace the source of suspected ring rot, e.g. supplier details, certificate number of seed planted, intermediary wholesalers.
· Investigate other potential links to the suspected outbreak and implement additional precautionary measures to prevent any further spread of the disease. Potential links could include:
- Other potato material which has been on the premises at the same time as the suspected material;
- Other premises which may be linked to the outbreak, for example by shared equipment or contractors, or which have handled potatoes from the suspected contaminated premises;
- Any machinery, vessel, store, packaging etc linked to the outbreak, including bulk containers that may have been used for transportation;
- Any potatoes which are clonally related to the suspected infected stock or other stocks grown on the suspect premises.
The measures should be appropriate to the level of estimated risk from the type of premises and the circumstances involved. For example, bagged ware potatoes in store may present less of an immediate risk than seed tubers.
7.7 If tests results show that the sample is free of ring rot, all restrictions should be lifted immediately to permit the businesses affected to resume normal operations.