Health officials were once anonymous. They were the quiet workers in back rooms and laboratories. They have become well-known faces on television.

This is now the way of the world. Increasing travel means increasing possibilities for viruses to travel.

So we need to heed the warnings of the experts about foot and mouth disease.

Important reporting by ACM, publisher of this newspaper, from Bali in recent days has revealed complacency among Australian tourists about the dangers of the devastating disease affecting cattle in Indonesia.

There have been 450,000 cases of the disease there. The authorities say that the outbreak may take until the end of the year to end. We wish them all speed.

And we also wish that Australians exercising their pent-up desire to travel will recognise how important it is that they bring only themselves back and not a disease which would cost us all very dearly.

It is true that Australia has not had an outbreak of foot and mouth disease since 1872 but the experience of Britain in 2001 is a warning.

The virus moves very easily across herds. It can affect any cloven-hoofed animals like cows or sheep. In Britain, it started with pigs and spread rapidly to other species.

Once caught, an animal has to be killed and burned and then buried in mass pits. In Britain, this happened to six million animals.

It is not just the infected animal which has to be killed within 24 hours of symptoms developing.

In Britain, it meant also euthanising animals on all neighbouring farms regardless of their health.

People got used to signs at the gates of farms prohibiting entry - and to the chilling sight of stacks of black smoke rising as carcasses were disposed of on pyres.

It is obvious that we do not want that to happen in Australia.

Apart from the sheer pain of it for animals, and the mental burden put upon those who travelled to farms to slaughter infected animals, the economic cost to Australia's primary industries would be devastating.

The outbreak in Britain cost its economy about $23 billion in today's prices. To put that in perspective, that is about a quarter of the total annual amount spent on health care in Australia. It is a lot of money.

The lesson from Britain, too, is that ending the outbreak does not end the damage.

Australia sells its food products abroad so successfully because the brand is so strong. Australian beef is safe, and customers everywhere know that.

An outbreak of foot and mouth disease would damage the global Australian brand for years.

The cost of living and the public purse are taking a very big hit from rising fuel and food prices, all on top of the pandemic. We are not well-placed for another disaster.

This means that if you travel, you should absolutely obey the rules when you return.

When you tick the boxes on the card at immigration, it may be tempting to put "no" falsely for questions about travel to rural areas or contact with animals.

Do not do that.

Travelers who have been around animals or in rural areas, should clean any equipment, clothing and shoes thoroughly with soap or detergent before returning to Australia.

The penalty for not doing so is $2664. That seems low but the real reason to obey the rules is not fear of punishment.

It is to save Australia from devastating damage to the economy, and so too the livelihoods of all Australians.