Mycoplasma bovis biosecurity outbreak

Mycoplasma bovis is a bacterium that causes illness in cattle, including untreatable udder infections (mastitis), abortion, pneumonia, and arthritis. For more information on what this means for New Zealand, there's a situation report on the Biosecurity New Zealand website.

Help for farmers affected by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak

If you’re a farmer and you've been affected by the outbreak, you may be able to get help through your Rural Support Trust.

Getting help through Rural Support Trusts

Rural Support Trusts have local people trained to offer assistance and support in times of hardship. If you're a rural person affected by Mycoplasma bovis in some way, contact the local co-ordinator for free and confidential information.

Call 0800 RURAL Help (0800 787 254) and select “0” for Mycoplasma bovis questions, or select your region for anything else. You can find out more on the Rural Support website.

How to get help if your job is affected by the outbreak

Get financial help

If you work on a farm that has been affected by the Mycoplasma bovis biosecurity outbreak, there are lots of ways we may be able to help you based on your situation. You don't have to be on a benefit to receive help from us.

Contact us

Call us on 0800 559 009 if you:

• would like our help
• aren't sure if you can get help from us
• are struggling to support yourself or your family
• would like more information.

We may be able to help you over the phone, without you coming into an office.

If you do need to come in and see us, we'll make an appointment and tell you what to bring.

Our online services

You can also use MyMSD and apply online for some types of help.

Stress counselling and support

When responding to things outside of our control it is important to have a support team around us. Family, friends, and trusted advisors may be all we need to get through.

It's completely normal for you and your family to be emotionally and physically drained. You're not alone feeling this way and you don't need to cope on your own. Sometimes it can be helpful if we seek support, assistance, and expertise from someone objective and not so involved in the process.

For more information, download from the Biosecurity New Zealand the Looking after yourself factsheet PDF 1.2MB

More help and information

You can get more help and information from:

• your GP or your local community health centre
• the phonebook under medical white pages
• Youthline (call them on 0800 376 633, or visit the Youthline website)
• Rural Support Trust (0800 RURAL HELP)

If you need help in an emergency, call 111.

If you work, your employer may be part of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and will be able to provide you with those details.