Infectious diseases
Australia’s relative isolation provides a welcome buffer to many of the global diseases affecting sheep. However, AWI is proactively ensuring woolgrower protection into the future by establishing new diagnostic tests and crisis planning should an outbreak occur.
Australia is fortunate in being free of a long list of livestock diseases that cause significant losses in other countries - for example, foot-and-mouth and mad cow disease.
To keep these diseases out, Australia has a very strong system of quarantine and closely regulates imports of animal products.
AWI helps to ensure that Australia has adequate defences against exotic disease agents entering the country, and effective plans and tools in place to deal with disease outbreaks that do occur.
The Australian emergency animal disease response is set out in AUSVETPLAN which is maintained by Animal Health Australia.
New diagnostic tests
Sheep pox, goat pox and lumpy skin disease are important diseases of Africa and Asia. If the causative agent - capripox virus - were to enter Australia, it would kill many sheep and cause heavy production losses in others. In addition, the virus is very persistent in wool, so an outbreak of capripox in Australia could threaten wool exports. Capripox is among the top four exotic disease threats to the wool industry.
Good diagnostic tests for capripox do not exist anywhere in the world. This would make it difficult to respond to an outbreak in Australia. It would also be difficult to prove that Australia was free of the disease following an eradication campaign.
AWI is funding a major project with CSIRO Livestock Industries at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong to develop a range of new diagnostic tests for capripox. The tests should be available by late 2006.
Crisis planning
AUSVETPLAN is a series of technical response plans that describe the proposed Australian approach to an exotic disease incursion. AWI is working to complete three new AUSVETPLAN manuals for:
- Wool stores
- Processing plants
- Exporters
Footrot
Footrot is one area in which AWI is providing research and guidelines to maintain animal health. Find out more about footrot.
Resources
Contact
Dr Johann Schröder
Project Manager, Animal Health and Welfare
Tel: +61 2 8295 3100
Contact via email
Publications
Listen online
- Capripox, Innovation Radio, 2 July 2004 (Windows media file 1.6Mb)
Related websites