ANIMAL HEALTH in AUSTRALIA 2009 ANIMAL HEALTH in AUSTRALIA 2009 Copyright and Trademarks Use of Materials and Information
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ANIMAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA 2009 ANIMAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA 2009 Copyright and trademarks Use of materials and information This publication is protected by copyright. Information or material from this publication may be reproduced in unaltered form for personal, © Animal Health Australia 2010 noncommercial use. All other rights are reserved. Information or material from this publication may be used for the purposes of private study, Preferred citation research, criticism or review permitted under the Copyright Act 1968. Animal Health Australia (2010). Animal Health in Australia 2009, Any reproduction permitted in accordance with the Copyright Act Canberra, Australia. 1968 must acknowledge Animal Health Australia as the source of any selected passage, extract, diagram or other information. Any reproduction must also include a copy of the original copyright and Acknowledgments disclaimer notice as set out here. The Animal Health in Australia 2009 report draws together information provided primarily by the Australian Government Department of Commercial and other use Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and state and territory government No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval agencies. Animal Health Australia maintains responsibility for system, distributed or commercialised in any form without prior written production of the report for the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer as approval from Animal Health Australia. The contents of this publication part of the National Animal Health Information System (NAHIS). may not be used to sell a product or service for commercial reasons Animal Health Australia would like to acknowledge the efforts of such as advertising. all contributors to this report, including the NAHIS Editorial Panel. Trademarks Appreciation is also extended to the national and state coordinators for NAHIS, and the organisations and individuals who contributed photos Any trademarks or logos contained in this publication may not be used for the report. without the prior written permission of Animal Health Australia. ISBN 978 1 876714 90 1 Disclaimer This publication is published by Animal Health Australia for information Technical editing by Biotext, Canberra purposes only. Information contained in it is drawn from a variety Designed and typeset by: Meta Design Studio of sources external to Animal Health Australia. Although reasonable Printed by: Paragon Printers Australasia care was taken in its preparation, Animal Health Australia does not Produced by Animal Health Australia guarantee or warrant the accuracy, reliability, completeness or currency Cover photograph: Animal Health Australia of the information, or its usefulness in achieving any purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Animal Health Australia will not Feedback be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred in or arising Comments and suggestions regarding the Animal Health in Australia by reason of any person relying on the information in this publication. 2009 report are welcomed. Please forward all correspondence to the Persons should accordingly make and rely on their own assessments Manager, Corporate Communications, Animal Health Australia, via and enquiries to verify the accuracy of the information provided. email at [email protected]. One major focus for animal health in the latter half of FOREWORD 2009 included the first case of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in Australian pigs on 31 July 2009 in New South This thirteenth volume in the Animal Health in Australia Wales, and later in Victoria and Queensland. In each series of annual reports presents a comprehensive case, clinical signs were mild, with a consistent feature summary of Australia’s animal health system and status being reduced appetite in breeding animals. Human- in 2009. It includes reports from ongoing programs, to-pig transmission was implicated in these incidents. status reports on nationally significant terrestrial and Influenza in pigs is a notifiable disease in Australia. The aquatic animal diseases, and descriptions of new national control strategy is based on containment of initiatives introduced during the year. infection in the piggery. It is important that all piggeries maintain a high level of biosecurity to reduce the risk of On 18 December 2008, the Australian Government this virus being introduced via infected personnel. released the report of the independent review of Australia’s quarantine and biosecurity arrangements Another major focus was the two separate incidents of — One Biosecurity: A Working Partnership — and its Hendra virus infection in Queensland in mid-2009. The preliminary response, agreeing in principle to all veterinarian attending a horse from the first incident, 84 recommendations. The report concluded that Australia before the Hendra diagnosis was made, became infected operates a sound biosecurity system that can be improved and died. This tragic loss reminds us to consider unusual further to deal with increasing risks arising from climate diseases in the list of possible diagnoses and to ensure change, globalisation, population spread and increased we take appropriate biosecurity precautions. Hendra passenger and cargo movements. Its recommendations virus infection in horses and humans is an extremely rare are designed to improve the good aspects of the current event. In many of the incidents to date, the primary case system and to rectify any shortcomings. The government’s has been identified retrospectively. Biosecurity remains response to the proposed reforms progressed during the key to preventing such incidents. Furthermore, the 2009 to enhance the nation’s biosecurity system, while Australian Wildlife Health Network monitors bats for facilitating trade and minimising the potential impact of Hendra virus and lyssavirus using submissions from pests and diseases. network subscribers and state and territory wildlife coordinators, and collates this information within a Last year, I outlined some Australian Government actions database for further analysis. arising from the Callinan Inquiry into the 2007 equine influenza outbreak. In 2009, two independent assessment Australia’s National Strategic Plan for Aquatic reports to the minister were released on the progress Animal Health — AQUAPLAN 2005–2010 — is a of the Australian Government’s response. These reports comprehensive strategy to build and improve managerial found that the Australian Government Department of capacity for Australia’s aquatic animal health. From Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry continues to make 1 July 2009, the Animal Health Committee took good progress on implementing the government’s leadership of this plan. The plan includes a national response. Furthermore, the Interim Inspector-General approach to emergency disease preparedness and of Horse Importation’s report to the minister stated that response (AQUAVETPLAN). Two disease strategy Biosecurity Australia and the Australian Quarantine and manuals are being revised in 2009–10 — white spot Inspection Service had done much work to improve disease (of prawns) and viral haemorrhagic septicaemia the horse importation system since the Callinan Report, (of fish). Similarly, the terrestrial animal disease strategy and that the effectiveness and integrity of importation manuals under AUSVETPLAN (which outlines Australia’s arrangements had been substantially strengthened. I am plans for emergency animal disease responses) have also pleased with and appreciate the progress made to been under review. In 2009, disease strategy manuals date. such as infectious bursal disease, equine influenza, Australian bat lyssavirus, Aujeszky’s disease and classical In May 2009, the Primary Industries Ministerial Council swine fever received scrutiny. Industry enterprise endorsed the new Australian Animal Welfare Standards manuals were also being reviewed or developed by and Guidelines—Land Transport of Livestock, which various industries. I wish to thank everyone who made was developed by an expert working group under the contributions to such manuals and plans. Australian Animal Welfare Strategy. Implementation of these guidelines by the states and territories is an The National Significant Disease Investigation Program expected priority for 2010. was successfully piloted in 2009. This program, designed to strengthen Australia’s general surveillance capability, iii broadly defines significant diseases as those that may emerging, zoonotic diseases such as SARS and avian impact trade, regional or national productivity, or public influenza H5N1. At the conference, the region agreed to health. The aim is to boost Australia’s capacity for early strive for a stronger voice in the OIE forum. In 2010, the disease detection by subsidising the cost of disease President of the Regional Commission (Dr Kawashima of investigations by private veterinary practitioners and Japan) and I will be working together to develop an OIE thus increasing their participation in disease surveillance. regional plan that will progress the interests of our region Reports from the investigations will be collated centrally within the OIE. into the National Animal Health Information System. Building on the activities presented here for 2009, This program, when fully implemented in 2010, will my other priorities for 2010 are to continue leading the be additional to other state and territory surveillance development of key national animal health policies, programs. Also in 2009, the strategy reference group minimise the