Dr Jeff Cave, Senior Veterinary Officer
Victoria is fortunate to be free of most of the serious diseases that affect animals in other parts of the world.
Despite this, continuous surveillance is crucial to enable early detection of animal diseases that could affect trade, regional or national productivity, animal welfare, public health or biodiversity.
The Victorian Significant Disease Investigation (SDI) Program aims to improve Victoria's ability to identify significant diseases in livestock and wildlife by boosting veterinary practitioner involvement and subsidising investigation costs.
Subsidies are available from Agriculture Victoria for the initial field investigation, including clinical and post-mortem evaluation, laboratory testing and a follow-up investigation of significant disease events in livestock and wildlife. Livestock includes ruminants, horses, pigs and poultry.
A disease is considered significant when one when one or more of the following apply:
- It shows an unusual or atypical manifestation, including high morbidity, mortality or rate of spread.
- An initial investigation does not establish a diagnosis or veterinary treatment does not lead to the expected response.
- There are findings indicating a possible impact on trade, public health, biodiversity or the viability of a farm, industry or region, excluding cases where there is a genuine suspicion of an emergency animal disease.
When there is a genuine suspicion of an exotic or emergency disease, Agriculture Victoria may carry out the investigation and bear the full cost.
The SDI program will increase the likelihood of detecting a serious animal disease if one occurs and will help cover the costs for farmers to investigate and report a disease outbreak.
Payment of subsidies is conditional on approval from Agriculture Victoria.
In summary, early detection of new or exotic diseases relies on farmers, vets and the government working together.
Producers and animal owners should contact their vet when an unusual disease appears in their stock.
Veterinary practitioners must stay alert and consider the possibility of new, unusual or exotic diseases.
Unusual disease cases should be thoroughly investigated and appropriate samples should be sent to veterinary labs.
Early detection of emerging or exotic diseases is the key to their effective management.
