Download

Animal Diseases

1. Time of cognizance of the outbreak

In 2021 Australia had no outbreaks of infectious diseases or similar occurrences caused by toxins that seemed to deviate from the normal pattern. Below is information on outbreaks of infectious disease and similar occurrences in animals.

Animal disease

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is responsible for national coordination on animal health matters and for providing reports on Australia's animal health status, including regular reports to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WHO.

The following sections contain information on significant animal disease events/issues in 2021. Australia publishes quarterly reports and biennial reports[1] on animal health incidents and status, as well as providing emergency, six-monthly and annual reports to the OIE[2]. Australia’s status for OIE-listed diseases for 2021 is shown in the table that follows. Diseases specific to aquatic animals can be found on the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s website (http://www.awe.gov.au/agriculture-land/animal/aquatic/reporting/reportab...).

Australia’s status for OIE-listed diseases of terrestrial animals, 2021

Disease

Status

Date of last occurrence and notes

Multiple-species diseases

Anthrax

Present

Limited distribution

Aujeszky’s disease

Free

Never occurred

Bluetongue

Viruses present

Restricted to specific zones of Australia. Sentinel herd and vector monitoring programs are in place

Brucellosis (infection with Brucella abortus)

Free

Australia declared freedom in all terrestrial animal species in 1989

Brucellosis (infection with Brucella melitensis)

Free

 Never occurred in animals

Brucellosis (infection with Brucella suis)

Serological evidence

Maintained in feral pigs in parts of New South Wales and Queensland. Rare occurrence in domestic pigs. Sporadic detections in pig-hunting dogs (not OIE-notifiable occurrences)

Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever

Free

Never occurred

Echinococcosis (infection with Echinococcus granulosus)

Present

 

Echinococcosis (infection with Echinoccocus multilocularis)

Free

Never occurred

Epizootic haemorrhagic disease

Virus present

Disease has not been reported

Equine encephalomyelitis (Eastern)

Free

Never occurred

Foot-and-mouth disease

Free

1872. Australia is officially recognised by the OIE as free without vaccination

Heartwater

Free

Never occurred

Japanese encephalitis

Serological evidence

Detected seasonally in Torres Strait, however no confirmed clinical cases since 2004

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (as defined by OIE Terrestrial Code)

Free

Australia declared freedom in 1997 from bovine tuberculosis; the last case in any species was reported in 2002.

New World screw-worm (Cochliomyia hominivorax)

Free

Never occurred

Old World screw-worm (Chrysomya bezziana)

Free

Never occurred

Paratuberculosis

Present

National control and management programs are in place

Q fever

Present

 

Rabies virus (infection with)

Free

1867

Rift Valley fever (infection with Rift Valley fever virus)

Free

Never occurred

Rinderpest

Free

1923. With the global eradication of rinderpest in 2011, all countries are free

Surra (infection with Trypanosoma evansi)

Free

1907 (a consignment of imported camels)

Trichinellosis (infection with Trichinella spp.)

Limited species present

Trichinella spiralis is not present. T. pseudospiralis is present in wildlife

Tularaemia

Present

Detected in archived samples (collected 2002) from Tasmanian ringtail possums

 

 

 

West Nile fever

Australian variants present

 

Cattle diseases

Bovine anaplasmosis

Present

 Transmission mainly in areas of northern Australia

Bovine babesiosis

Present

Transmission mainly in areas of northern Australia

Bovine genital campylobacteriosis

Present

 

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Free

Never occurred. National Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Freedom Assurance Program includes surveillance. Australia has official OIE ‘negligible risk’ status

 

 

 

Bovine viral diarrhoea

Present

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus 1 (BVDV-1) is present. BVDV-2 has never occurred

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (infection with Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC)

Free

1967. Australia declared freedom in 1973 and is officially recognised by the OIE as free

Enzootic bovine leucosis

Free in dairy cattle. Very low prevalence in beef cattle

Australian dairy herd achieved freedom on 31 December 2012

Haemorrhagic septicaemia

Free

Never occurred. Strains of Pasteurella multocida are present, but not the 6b or 6e strains that cause haemorrhagic septicaemia

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis

Present

Bovine herpesvirus (BHV) 1.2b is present; BHV-1.1 and 1.2a have never occurred

Lumpy skin disease

Free

Never occurred

Theileriosis

Free

Theileria orientalis is present in Australia but OIE-listed species T. parva and T. Annulata are not

Trichomonosis

Present

 

Trypanosomosis (tsetse borne)

Free

Never occurred

Sheep and goat diseases

Caprine arthritis–encephalitis

Present

Voluntary accreditation schemes exist

Contagious agalactia

Free

Mycoplasma agalactiae has been isolated, but Australian strains do not produce agalactia in sheep

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia

Free

Never occurred

 Enzootic abortion of ewes, ovine chlamydiosis (infection with Chlamydophila abortus)

Free

Never occurred

Maedi–visna

Free

Never occurred

Nairobi sheep disease

Free

Never occurred

Ovine epididymitis (infection with Brucella ovis)

Present

Voluntary accreditation schemes exist in all states

Peste des petits ruminants (infection with small ruminant morbillivirus)

Free

Never occurred. Australia is officially recognised by OIE as free

Salmonellosis (Salmonella Abortusovis)

Free

Never occurred. Surveillance has shown no evidence of infection in sheep

Scrapie

Free

1952. National Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Freedom Assurance Program includes surveillance. Atypical scrapie has been detected several times.

Sheep pox and goat pox

Free

Never occurred

Equine diseases

African horse sickness

Free

Never occurred. Australia is officially recognised by OIE as free

Contagious equine metritis

Free

1980

Dourine

Free

Never occurred

Equine encephalomyelitis (Western)

Free

Never occurred

Equine infectious anaemia

Present

Limited distribution and sporadic occurrence

Equine influenza

Free

2007. Australia self-declared freedom according to OIE standards in 2008

Equine piroplasmosis

Free

1976

 Equine rhinopneumonitis (infection with Equid herpesvirus-1)

Present

 

Equine viral arteritis

Serological evidence

 

Glanders (infection with Burkholderia mallei)

Free

1891

Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis

Free

Never occurred

Swine diseases

African swine fever

Free

Never occurred

Classical swine fever

Free

1962. Australia is officially recognised by OIE as free

Nipah virus encephalitis

Free

Never occurred

Porcine cysticercosis (infection with Taenia solium)

Free

Never occurred

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome

Free

Never occurred

 

 

 

Transmissible gastroenteritis

Free

Never occurred

Avian diseases

Avian chlamydiosis

Present

 

Avian infectious bronchitis

Present

 

Avian infectious laryngotracheitis

Present

 

Avian influenza (including infection with high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses) in poultry

Free from 26 February 2021

2020. Following an outbreak involving six properties and three different strains of avian influenza (H7N7 HPAI, H5N2 LPAI and H7N6 LPAI) in July–August 2020, Australia officially achieved HPAI disease freedom on 26 February 2021.

Influenza A viruses of high pathogenicity in birds other than poultry, including wild birds

Free

HPAI viruses have not been detected in Australian wild birds, other than a single detection of HPAI H7 virus in one feral Eurasian starling trapped inside an affected poultry shed during the 1985 HPAI H7 virus outbreak. 

Avian mycoplasmosis (infection with Mycoplasma gallisepticum)

Present

 

Avian mycoplasmosis (infection with Mycoplasma synoviae)

Present

 

Duck virus hepatitis

Free

Never occurred

Fowl typhoid

Free

1952

 

 

 

Infectious bursal disease (Gumboro disease)

Present

Infectious bursal disease occurs in a mild form and was last reported in 2004. Very virulent strains are not present

 

 

 

Newcastle disease in poultry (infection with Newcastle disease virus)

Lentogenic viruses present

Virulent Newcastle disease last occurred in poultry in 2002. In August 2011, pigeon paramyxovirus not previously reported in Australia was detected in hobby pigeons in Victoria. Disease caused by this virushas not spread to poultry

Pullorum disease

Not reported

Last reported in 1992. Salmonella Pullorum has been eradicated from commercial chicken flocks

Turkey rhinotracheitis

Free

Never occurred

Lagomorph diseases

Myxomatosis

Present

Used as a biological control agent for wild rabbits

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease

Present

Used as a biological control agent for wild rabbits. A new strain was detected in 2015 and another released in 2017.

Bee diseases

American foulbrood (infection of honey bees with Paenibacillus larvae)

Present

 

European foulbrood (infection of honey bees with Melissococcus plutonius)

Present

 

Infestation of honey bees with Acarapis woodi

Free

Never occurred

Infestation of honey bees with Tropilaelaps spp

Free

Never occurred

Infestation of small hive beetle with Aethina tumida

Present

Restricted distribution

 Varroosis

(infestation of honey bees with Varroa spp.)

Free

Varroa destructor has never been reported in Australia. Incursions of V. jacobsoni were identified and stamped out in June 2016 and April 2020. The response is currently in proof-of-freedom phase.

Other diseases

Camel pox

Free

Never occurred

Leishmaniosis

Australian variant, Leishmania macropodum, present

Rare. Australian variant was first isolated in 2000 from macropods and occurs infrequently in a small region near Darwin. In 2017, it was isolated in a new species, captive Nabarlek (pygmy rock wallaby, Petrogale concinna) in the Northern Territory. Occasional imported case of L. infantum with no known local transmission.

 

 

Comments on selected OIE-listed diseases

Anthrax

Anthrax is on the list of nationally notifiable diseases and is subject to compulsory government controls, including quarantine, disposal of carcasses, and vaccination and tracing of at-risk animals and their products. Incidents of anthrax in Australian livestock occur sporadically and generally in a defined geographical region confined to the northern and north-eastern districts of Victoria up to Central New South Wales. Anthrax is detected occasionally in southern Queensland. Anthrax has never been recorded in the Northern Territory. South Australia’s and Tasmania’s last recorded anthrax outbreaks were in 1914 and 1933 respectively. The last case in Western Australia was an isolated case in 1994.  Anthrax is considered a Tier 1 Security Sensitive Biological Agent in Australia and is subject to requirements under the National Health Security Act 2007.

 

2. Location and approximate area affected

Location
N/A
Approximate area affected
N/A
3. Type of disease/intoxication
N/A
4. Suspected source of disease/intoxication
N/A
5. Possible causative agent(s)
N/A
6. Main characteristics of systems
N/A

7. Detailed symptoms, when applicable

8. Deviation(s) from the normal pattern as regards

9. Approximate number of primary cases
N/A
10. Approximate number of total cases
N/A
11. Number of deaths
N/A
12. Development of the outbreak
N/A
13. Measures taken
N/A
Notes
N/A
Attachments
N/A