Only a few months ago, news outlets around the country were running alarming breaking news reports about a disease that could disrupt the lives of Australians and potentially cost the economy more than $80 billion.
The presence of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Indonesia sent panic through Australia's farming industry, prompting calls from the opposition leader to ban travel to Bali.
Those calls were not heeded, Australia remains free from FMD and the disease has slowly faded from mainstream attention.
That does not mean concern has subsided, but with new measures at the border and vaccines being distributed in Indonesia, the nature of the outbreak has entered a new phase.
What happened next?
Foot-and-mouth disease is extremely contagious in livestock and can be carried on footwear and clothing, as well as in food.
If a pig in Australia were to consume FMD-contaminated food, or if a returned traveller were to walk on a farm with shoes carrying FMD fragments, the disease could spread quickly through cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer.
Jobs up and down the country would be at risk and Australia's export meat and dairy industries would shut overnight.
Since FMD was detected in Indonesia in May, more than 400,000 passengers have travelled to Australia from Indonesia.
Biosecurity officials have so far issued just 31 infringement notices to travellers who failed to declare products that could have been carrying FMD.
In late July, a passenger from Indonesia was fined $2,664 for trying to sneak two beef sausage McMuffins and a ham croissant into Australia.
A homemade beef pastry from Indonesia, which was voluntarily surrendered at Adelaide Airport by a passenger from Denpasar, was later tested and found to contain FMD.
A further 7,298 "risk items" have been declared to officials at the border.
All travellers arriving from Indonesia are now risk profiled by an expanded team of biosecurity agents, and can be subjected to further directions by officers.
Each passenger returning from Indonesia is required to step on a disinfectant foot mat — a measure the government made mandatory in July and does not expect to cease any time soon.
Every piece of mail arriving from Indonesia is also now screened and inspected.
Not all posted products from Indonesia are tested for FMD, but of 505 samples submitted for testing, only one returned a positive result.
What's happening in Indonesia?
Australia has been FMD-free for more than a century.
The disease can be found in dozens of countries around the world, but Australia's proximity to Indonesia makes its presence there particularly concerning.
As a steady stream of school-holiday travellers have sunned themselves in Bali in recent weeks, Indonesian officials claim the cattle herd there is FMD-free.
No new cases of FMD have been reported for months.
But these claims have been discredited by experts on the ground in Bali.
Australia can't vaccinate against FMD, unless an outbreak is detected here.
In an attempt to keep the virus out of the country, Australia committed one million FMD vaccines to be used in livestock in Indonesia, with 600,000 already distributed to Bali.
The Australian government also has provided training for vets working in Indonesia.
Amid a heated political debate In late July, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was among several Coalition figures to call for the government to ban travel from Indonesia.
The ABC this week asked Mr Dutton whether he still supported closing the border to Indonesia, but did not receive a response.
The Australian government has maintained it has no plans to close the border to Indonesia.
Are farmers still nervous?
Having seen the devastating consequences of FMD outbreaks in other countries, Australian farmers remain concerned that FMD's presence in Bali could see its onward spread into the country.
In that scenario, herds of cattle and flocks of sheep would likely be destroyed and access to valuable foreign markets would be lost immediately.
In July, more than 100 farmers held a protest in south-west Victoria calling for a 120-day ban on recreational travel to Indonesia over FMD fears, with some labelling the government's response "reactive".
The National Farmers' Federation's Tony Mahar said farmers remained on high alert and "the threat remains very real".
"Industry and government have been working collaboratively both publicly and behind the scenes to tighten our borders. … [and] we understand Indonesia has made progress in its vaccination program ," Mr Mahar said.
"We've undertaken a detailed review of Australia's response plans and we're confident Australia is ready should the unthinkable happen."
Many farmers already have biosecurity plans that require visitors to sign-in, clean shoes and wear protective gear so as not to spread any disease.
Some have taken the renewed biosecurity threat as a prompt to review and update these plans.
Despite concern animal events at this year's Brisbane Ekka and Royal Melbourne Show could become potential FMD-spreader hotspots, both went ahead as planned, although some farmers opted not to bring their livestock.
Will the threat ever go away?
As with the COVID-19 pandemic, widescale vaccination of livestock will play a central role in the response to FMD in Indonesia.
The Australian government has said current biosecurity measures will continue for as long as there is an outbreak in Indonesia.
When FMD spread to Bali, much of the initial attention in Australia focused on the risk travellers posed in carrying FMD on clothing and footwear and spreading it to livestock.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the greater danger was posed by animal products carrying FMD being transported into Australia.
"This is a serious risk, and we're taking it seriously.
"We now have the strongest response from any Australian government to a biosecurity threat in our nation's history."
