It has been a devastating few weeks for Mainland Poultry in general and workers at its Hillgrove site in particular, after the highly pathogenic H7N6 strain of bird flu was found on its Moeraki property on December 1.
Heartbreaking scenes ensued as about 200,000 chickens at the farm were slaughtered in an attempt to stop any outbreak of the disease in its tracks.
Such brutal measures are always hard to stomach, but in this case they seem to have been the right ones as latest testing suggests they have been effective in their aim.
Latest testing of more than 4000 samples taken from 36 flocks across five Otago properties were taken after the end of the full incubation period for the virus. Thankfully, all returned negative results.
This, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said, could give people confidence that the virus had solely been contained to Hillgrove, and that the agency was on track to stamping out the disease.
This is a tremendous result and an extremely fortunate one given the highly transient nature of the poultry industry.
Infected birds could easily have been off the property and far afield before the presence of the virus had been detected.
But they were not, and the first of many thanks for what seems to have been a biosecurity success story had to go to the eagle-eyed person who detected viral symptoms at Hillgrove.
The farm's operators, Mainland Poultry, then did the right thing in immediately notifying MPI. The agency's response was equally as swift, marshalling about 200 people at its peaks to work on the threat that the bird flu detection posed.
This was the first such case of H7N6 ever reported in New Zealand, and it was an important test of the country's defences.
While not the far more worrying HN51 strain, which is carried by wild fowl and is transmissible to humans, it is still a serious avian illness and dealing with it effectively was necessary to give assurance that when and if more serious diseases wing their way to our shores that a comprehensive reaction awaits them.
So far, so good, although there is a long way to go.
Hillgrove remains under biosecurity lockdown, and it remains some time before it can be recommissioned.
Thorough cleaning and decontamination of the barns and yards will be how many people are spending their holidays, as no chances should be taken to ensure all traces of the virus have been removed before the sheds are used again.
Further details which await conclusion include compensating Mainland for the immense disruption to its operation, and assuring trading partners that New Zealand has reacted appropriately and properly in managing the outbreak.
Thus far that seems to be the case, and for that many people deserve a hearty thanks.
All we wanted for Christmas
All Otago and Southland wanted and needed for Christmas was confirmation that the new Dunedin hospital would, indeed, be built as planned.
However, there was nothing but coal in our collective stockings as the government has still to decide whether to press ahead with the new inpatient building or attempt to retrofit the old, inadequate hospital building.
This should not be a difficult decision. An impressive array of clinical professionals have stood up to be counted and said the only sensible choice from a medical perspective is to press ahead with a project which had been carefully drafted over many years so as to create a hospital to serve the South for generations.
While we know that this will not come cheap, which is presumably the reason for the government's hesitation, it is an investment which will pay handsomely in the long run in ensuring the health and wellbeing of tens of thousands.
We can only hope that the ongoing delay is time being taken by all and sundry to reach that conclusion and build the South the hospital it was promised.
