Griffith's butchers are keeping an eye on the situation, with foot-and-mouth detected in Melbourne and Adelaide

Viral fragments of foot-and-mouth disease were detected at Adelaide Airport, in beef brought in by a passenger, with similar fragments also turning up in pork in Melbourne.

While biosecurity efforts have been ramped up at airports across the country, there remains a concern that the devastating disease could make it's way further into Australia so butchers are keeping a watchful eye on the situation.

Due to the highly infectious nature of the disease, most outbreaks are handled by establishing a wide perimeter and culling all livestock within that area.

While it doesn't pose a health risk to humans, experts have estimated that the cost to the economy could top $80 billion in the worst-case scenario of a mass outbreak.

Understandably, this has some butchers nervous but acknowledging that there hasn't been an outbreak of the live disease yet.

"We're not worried about us, we're worried about everyone," said Ben Makepeace, at Hanwood Butchery.

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Mr Makepeace said that the difference Griffith would see if foot-and-mouth made it here would be in prices with abattoirs sourcing livestock from further afield and passing that extra increase on.

"It all has to be from a certified abattoir so we can't just go further out. They might be able to but we'll have to go to them."

"Well, we're not gonna starve, but prices will go up if it gets out of hand," he said.

There was some concern over panic-shopping, akin to the toilet paper stockpiling during the early stages of COVID-19, but Mr Makepeace said they hadn't seen any real changes in behaviour yet.

He emphasised that the fragments found in Adelaide and Melbourne were dead and posed no risk to humans.

The group at Hanwood Butchery encouraged people to exercise common sense and to continue as normal rather than panic-buying and driving up prices.

"We'll have to wait and see," Mr Makepeace finished.

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