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Exotic Animal Disease

Newsletter

Foot and Mouth disease

In Vol. 5 issue 1 we reported on the

outbreaks of FMD in Japan, Korea and

Bulgaria.

Philippines

The good news is that in May 2011 at

the OIE General Assembly, the

Philippines expect to be declared free of

FMD (the last reported case was in

December 2005). This is a great

success for the South East Asia and

China FMD (SEACFMD) campaign

coordinated by the OIE and to which

Australia is a significant contributor.

Bulgaria

A further 11 outbreaks have occurred in

Bulgaria close to the border withTurkey. Bulgarian authorities are now

reported to be reinstating a fence along

the border with Turkey to prevent the

movement of animals across the border.

South Korea

The large outbreak in South Korea is

estimated to have cost in excess of

US$3 million, with approximately 3.4

million livestock (including 1/3 of the

national pigs) destroyed. The last case

was reported on 21 April 2011.

The government has implemented a

FMD vaccination program with

livestock owners paying for the vaccine.

Additional measures include farming

permits only being issued to cattle and pig

owners who have the required facilities

and completed biosecurity training, a new

compensation scheme where payments

will not be based only on the number of

animals slaughtered but also the stage on

the control campaign, compulsory

education for foreign farmer workers,

monitoring of disposal sites to prevent

environmental contamination and regular

exercises to test response arrangements.

Australias preparedness

Animal Health Australia convened a

meeting of peak industry bodies and

government representatives in Melbourne

on 11 April 2011 to review the FMDpolicy(http://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/programs/eadp/ausvetplan/fmd-

response-policy-review/fmd-response-

policy-review_home.cfm.) Whilst the

overall strategy remains control with a

view to eradication, the measures to be

implemented were reviewed. Key aspects

included the use of vaccines, the handling

of milk in the event of an outbreak and

proof of freedom requirements. Over the

next 12 months, working groups will draftchanges to the current AUSVETPLAN

strategy for FMD.

Rabies

Indonesia has allocated approximately

US$17.6 million to rabies control over

the next 2 years, with US$5 million to

be spent in Bali in 2011. During 2010,

57,800 people were bitten by dogs on

Bali and 119 human cases of rabieswere confirmed. Other areas to be

targeted include Nias Island and West

Maluku Tenggara.

Q fever

The outbreak of Q fever in the

Netherlands has been reported in this

newsletter previously. Since 2007 there

have been more than 4,000 human

cases, with 11 deaths in 2010.

The outbreak has been associated withthe development of mega dairy goat

farms. Control measures now focus on

the annual vaccination of sheep and

dairy goats. (IMED 2011, Vienna,

Austria, Feb 2011, Session 17)

Tammar wallaby mortalities

In November 2010, mortalities affectingTammar wallabies were reported in

NSW, ACT and WA. Wallabies werefound dead in good condition.

Outbreaks of Tammar Sudden DeathSyndrome have been reported since1998 and are associated with a virus ofthe Orbivirus genus, probably from theEubenangee serogroup. Outbreakscoincide with seasons when large

populations ofCulicoides sp. arepresent. A fact sheet on this syndrome isavailable from the Australian WildlifeHealth Networkhttp://www.wildlifehealth.org.au

Transboundary animal diseases

The OIE has published the Atlas ofTransboundary Animal Diseases. Itincludes key images of clinical signsand post mortem lesions of 29 OIEnotifiable diseases. It can be accessed at:http://web.oie.int/boutique/index.php?lan =en

Volume 5, Issue 2 May

REMEMBERNew diseases do occur. You may be looking at the first case.

EXOTIC DISEASE WATCH HOTLINE 1800 675 888

http://www.wildlifehealth.org.au/http://web.oie.int/boutique/index.php?lang=enhttp://www.wildlifehealth.org.au/http://web.oie.int/boutique/index.php?lang=enhttp://web.oie.int/boutique/index.php?lang=en

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Glanders

A tiger and 14 lions were destroyed in

the Tehran zoo after they were found to

be infected with glanders. It is possible

the animals were fed contaminated

meat. The animals were destroyed onpublic health grounds as they were too

difficult to treat.

Peste des petits ruminants

Recently, Tunisia reported to the OIE

cases of PPR in sheep with an apparent

case fatality rate of 50%.

This paramyxovirus has recently spread

from Africa to the Middle East and

beyond. In the past 12 months, cases

have been reported in Bangladesh,Nepal, Afghanistan, Turkey, Saudi

Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait and 17

other African countries.

PPR is similar to rinderpest but

predominantly affects sheep and goats.

Clinically, fever is followed by

depression, anorexia, mucopurulent

nasal discharge and conjunctivitis. Oral

lesions include hyperaemia of mucous

membranes and small areas of necrosis

sloughing to reveal shallow ulcers.

Severe diarrhea results in dehydration

and death. The mortality rate can be

high.

Horses

Atypical myopathy

Large outbreaks of atypical myopathy

have been reported in horses at pasture

in Europe since the 1980s. A similar

disease is seen in the USA where it is

called season pasture myopathy.

Clinically affected horses show profuse

sweating, muscle twitching, weakness,

reluctance to move, recumbancy and

death in 72 hours. Cause was unknown.

Recently researchers in Switzerland

linked the presence of the lethal toxin of

Clostridium sordellii to cases of

atypical myopathy.

Equine genital cancer

A novel papillomavirus,Equus caballus

papillomavirus-2, has recently been

detected in equine genital squamous cell

carcinomas and associated premalignant

lesions from horses in the UK and

Australia.

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

21039805)

Malaria

Plasmodium knowlesi is the most

recently identified malarial parasite of

humans. Recent work has shown that it

is a true zoonosis. Monkeys are the

reservoir host. 78% of wild macaques in

Sarawak were found to be infected.P.

knowlesi is a significant cause of human

malaria in Malaysian Borneo, butP.

knowlesi is yet to adapt to humans.

(http://plospathogens.org/article/info

%Adoi

%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015)

Rickettsias

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosesare caused by obligate intracellulargram-negative bacteria of the genusRickettsia and are transmitted byhematophagous arthropods, mainlyticks. These zoonoses are importantemerging vector-borne infections ofhumans worldwide. They sharecharacteristic clinical features, includingfever, rash, and sometimes an

inoculation eschar at the bite site,depending on the rickettsial agent that isinvolved .

In Oceania, tick-borne rickettsioseshave been reported primarily inAustralia. They include Queensland ticktyphus (R. australis) along the eastcoast of Australia, Flinders Islandspotted fever (R. honei) in southeastAustralia, and variant Flinders Islandspotted fever (R. honei strain"marmionii") in eastern Australia.

Furthermore, the DNA of at least 8incompletely described SFG rickettsiaehave been detected in ticks, and the

pathogenicity of these rickettsiaeremains unknown. Additionally,R.felis, the agent of flea-borne SFGrickettsiosis, has been found in WesternAustralia, New Zealand, and recently in

New Caledonia.

Recently,Rickettsia africae (the agent

of African tick-bite fever, ATBF), was

detected from 3 specimens of

Amblyomma loculosum ticks collected

from humans and birds in New

Caledonia.

(http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/1/1

00.htm)

The first reported human infections with

R. felis in Australia were recently

reported in 2 adults and three children

in Victoria following exposure to

kittens and fleas.

(http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/1

94_01_030111/wil10168_fm.html)

This follows the study reportingR. felisandBartonella clarridgeiae in cats and

fleas in Australia

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1

111/j.1751-0813.2010.00569.x/full)

These findings raise the concern that the

incidence ofR. felis may be under

reported in humans in Australia.

Further information on these diseases can be obtained from the AUSVETPLANwebsite at: http://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.auWhile you are there check out the latest edition of Animal Health SurveillanceQuarterly for information on diseases in livestock in Australia.

For further information contact Dr. Richard Rubira, Surveillance and EADCoordination and Response, Animal Health Programs, Animal Division,Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberrarichard.rubira@daff.gov.au or phone (03) 5762 2246

STOP PRESS

Chinese researchers have recentlyreported a new virus associated with

a severe viral infection of duckscausing egg drop, reduced feedintake and ovary-oviduct disease.This syndrome spread to most duckrearing areas of China in 2010.

The virus has been namedBaiyangdian (BYD) virus and is aflavivirus closely related toTembusu virus.(http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018

106)AUSVETPLAN

Recently AHA has publishedupdated versions of the diseasecontrol strategies for equineinfluenza and rabies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21039805http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21039805http://plospathogens.org/article/info%ADoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015http://plospathogens.org/article/info%ADoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015http://plospathogens.org/article/info%ADoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/1/100.htmhttp://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/1/100.htmhttp://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/194_01_030111/wil10168_fm.htmlhttp://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/194_01_030111/wil10168_fm.htmlhttp://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/194_01_030111/wil10168_fm.htmlhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00569.x/fullhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00569.x/fullhttp://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018106http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21039805http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21039805http://plospathogens.org/article/info%ADoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015http://plospathogens.org/article/info%ADoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015http://plospathogens.org/article/info%ADoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002015http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/1/100.htmhttp://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/1/100.htmhttp://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/194_01_030111/wil10168_fm.htmlhttp://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/194_01_030111/wil10168_fm.htmlhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00569.x/fullhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00569.x/full