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Future Direction For Ovine Johne’s Disease

The future direction for the management of Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) in Australia will be the subject of a series of public meetings being held across Victoria.

By Department of Primary Industries - 9th July 2003 - Back to News

The meetings, initiated by the Victorian Ministerial OJD Advisory Committee, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), and the Victorian Farmers’ Federation (VFF) Pastoral Group, will seek feedback from sheep producers on the recently released discussion paper ‘National Framework for the Future Management of OJD in Australia’.

In attendance at the Gippsland meetings will be Frank Tobin, Chairman of the Victorian Ministerial OJD Advisory Committee, Dr David Rendell, a private veterinarian, Dr Kit Button, DPI Animal Health and VFF representatives Bill Bray or Ian Feldtmann.

The meetings will cover:

 - What OJD does on property – Dr David Rendell,
 - he 3 options outlined from the national discussion paper – Frank Tobin,
 - Proposed trading opportunities for infected flocks – Dr Kit Button,
 - VFF process that will determine their submission to the national paper – Bill Bray (Yarram) Ian Feldtmann (Bruthen).

"The response to the options outlined in this paper will determine how we manage OJD for the next decade. It is important that producers focus their attention on the real issues and not be distracted from the reality that OJD needs to be managed on farm," said Mr Tobin. "I strongly urge all producers to have their say by attending a meeting in the coming months."

In Gippsland the meetings are being held at:

Yarram, on Thursday, July 17, from 1.00pm – 4.00pm at the Yarram Shire Offices, Grant St.

Bruthen, on Thursday, July 17, from 7.30pm – 10.00pm at St Matthews Church Hall, Campbell St.

FENCE OFF FARM RUBBISH DUMPS

Earlier this year veterinarians across Victoria diagnosed three outbreaks of lead poisoning in cattle, causing the death of 19 animals. In each case the animals had found old car batteries in the farm dump.

Lead poisoning caused weakness, uncoordination, blindness, convulsions and rapid death in these outbreaks.

Dr Bob Crawford, DPI District Veterinary Officer at Horsham, said recently that he had seen all these symptoms, and more, in similar outbreaks in the Wimmera over many years. He said it is important that incidents like this are investigated, as they may be the first cases of an exotic disease like mad cow disease. Invariably though they are caused by lead paint on old discarded pieces of machinery, timber, furniture, hurdles and fences.

"It is really important to make farm dumps inaccessible to stock to prevent poisoning," Dr Crawford said.

Dr Crawford said lead salts must have a taste that is attractive to cattle and, where they are available, young animals will lick them like kids lick ice creams.

The use of lead pigments in paint has been banned for many years, so this hazard will slowly decrease. Metallic lead is permanent and will remain a threat, unless fenced off or removed.

Dr Crawford recalled that, many years ago, an old harrow which had been in a paddock for more than 20 and nearly lost all its paint was licked by a steer which then became blind, had a running fit and died suddenly.

In another case the diagnosis was made many months after the loss of cattle when the owner noticed that nothing grew where the bodies decomposed. Tests of the soil in those places showed excessive lead. The rubbish dump source was found and made safe.

Dr Crawford said that all sorts of other poisons have been found in farm rubbish dumps. Old arsenic powder dip in the original containers has been shown to be attractive to cattle and multiple deaths have ensued.

Old bones, chewed by curious, bored, hungry or phosphorus-deficient cattle has resulted in death due to botulism from the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which produces the botulinus toxin that grows in decaying animal and vegetable material.

Farm dumps need to be made inaccessible to stock, otherwise losses will continue to occur from time to time.

DPI DIGGING BRINGS GOOD NEWS
FOR POTATO INDUSTRY

Good detective work by a Department of Primary Industries (DPI) plant pathologist has potentially improved export market access for Australian potatoes.

While checking international records on potato diseases, Dr James Cunnington, from the Institute for Horticultural Development (IHD), discovered that the fungal disease known as skin spot of potato was recorded as occurring in Australia. Believing that this was not the case, James dug deeper and found that the record was based on a report from Tasmania in the 1950s. Consultation with the Tasmanian Government revealed that the disease either was never present in Tasmania or had been eradicated.

James then liaised with Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia and the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International (CABI) in the United Kingdom to have the status of the disease in Australia altered to "absent or unreliable record". This change will be incorporated into the CABI compendium, which is a standard tool for plant pathologists and quarantine authorities around the world.

IHD recently hosted a delegation of quarantine officials from Thailand which sought to clarify the status of several diseases of potato recorded in Australia. Skin spot is regarded as a regulated disease in Thailand by quarantine authorities. The work to correct international records will assist Australia’s potato industry in securing access to such markets. It is a good example of the benefits of the Australian Plant Disease Database, which is a cornerstone for pest risk analysis and quarantine decisions.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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