Annual reports With contributions from: National organisations Communicable Diseases Network Aust... more Annual reports With contributions from: National organisations Communicable Diseases Network Australia and subcommittees
An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Australia would trigger a major disease control and erad... more An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Australia would trigger a major disease control and eradication program that would include restriction of movement of live animals within defined disease control zones. Experiences from outbreaks in other countries show that restrictions that limit the ability to turn off stock can lead to animal welfare compromise on intensively managed farms that are not infected with the disease. Intensive pig farms are considered to be at high risk of developing welfare problems during a control program due to the imposed movement restrictions and limited space available to house growing pigs. This study was designed to investigate strategies that could be used to mitigate animal welfare problems on intensive pig farms during a simulated outbreak of foot and mouth disease in a livestock dense region of Australia. Three strategies for managing farms affected by animal welfare problems were assessed, including on-farm culling of grower and finisher pigs, on...
An outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) could seriously impact Australia's livestock sect... more An outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) could seriously impact Australia's livestock sector and economy. As an FMD-free country, an outbreak would trigger a major disease control and eradication program that would include the culling of infected and at risk animals ('stamping out'), movement restrictions and zoo-sanitary measures. Additional control measures may also include pre-emptive culling or vaccination. However, it is unclear what disease strategy would be most effective under Australian conditions and different resource levels. Using a stochastic simulation model that describes FMD transmission between farms in a livestock dense region of Australia, our results suggest that using current estimates of human resource capacity for surveillance, infected premises operations and vaccination, outbreaks were effectively controlled under a stamping out strategy. However, under more constrained resource allocations, ring vaccination was more likely to achieve eradicat...
To provide an overview and descriptive analysis of the 2011 arboviral disease epidemic in horses ... more To provide an overview and descriptive analysis of the 2011 arboviral disease epidemic in horses that involved three important Australian mosquito-borne viruses: Murray Valley encephalitis virus, West Nile virus (Kunjin strain) and Ross River virus. Data from states affected between January and June 2011 were collated and comprised reports of horses showing signs of neuromuscular disease and the associated laboratory findings. A summary of the data is presented, together with a spatiotemporal analysis of cases and preliminary assessment of rainfall patterns and case distribution. A total of 982 cases of equine arboviral disease were reported across Australia between January and June 2011. The majority of cases were reported from south-east Australia and included horses that developed neurological signs consistent with encephalitis. It was the largest epidemic of equine arboviral disease in Australia's history. Two likely causes for this unprecedented epidemic were the unusual weather events that preceded the epidemic and the emergence of a new strain of Kunjin virus. The epidemic highlights to horse owners and policy makers the potential for future outbreaks of arboviral diseases and the need for vigilance. It also highlights the complex interactions among hosts, vectors and climatic conditions that are required for such an outbreak to occur.
Disease managers face many challenges when deciding on the most effective control strategy to man... more Disease managers face many challenges when deciding on the most effective control strategy to manage an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Decisions have to be made under conditions of uncertainty and where the situation is continually evolving. In addition, resources for control are often limited. A modeling study was carried out to identify characteristics measurable during the early phase of a FMD outbreak that might be useful as predictors of the total number of infected places, outbreak duration, and the total area under control (AUC). The study involved two modeling platforms in two countries (Australia and New Zealand) and encompassed a large number of incursion scenarios. Linear regression, classification and regression tree, and boosted regression tree analyses were used to quantify the predictive value of a set of parameters on three outcome variables of interest: the total number of infected places, outbreak duration, and the total AUC. The number of infected premi...
In 2005, 60 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territori... more In 2005, 60 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territories reported a total of 125,461 cases of communicable diseases to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System: an increase of 10% on the number of notifications in 2004. In 2005, the most frequently notified diseases were sexually transmissible infections (51,557 notifications, 41% of total notifications), gastrointestinal diseases (29,422 notifications, 23%) and bloodborne diseases (19,278 notifications, 15%). There were 17,753 notifications of vaccine preventable diseases; 4,935 notifications of vectorborne diseases; 1,826 notification of other bacterial infections (legionellosis, leprosy, meningococcal infections and tuberculosis) and 687 notifications of zoonotic diseases.
Whilst emergency vaccination may help contain foot-and-mouth disease in a previously FMD-free cou... more Whilst emergency vaccination may help contain foot-and-mouth disease in a previously FMD-free country, its use complicates post-outbreak surveillance and the recovery of FMD-free status. A structured surveillance program is required that can distinguish between vaccinated and residually infected animals, and provide statistical confidence that the virus is no longer circulating in previously infected areas. Epidemiological models have been well-used to investigate the potential benefits of emergency vaccination during a control progam and when/where/whom to vaccinate in the face of finite supplies of vaccine and personnel. Less well studied are post-outbreak issues such as the management of vaccinated animals and the implications of having used vaccination during surveillance regimes to support proof-of-freedom. This paper presents enhancements to the Australian Animal Disease Model (AADIS) that allow comparisons of different post-outbreak surveillance sampling regimes for establish...
The Australian journal of emergency management, 2004
Within Australia, most aquaculture industries are relatively new and have been established in the... more Within Australia, most aquaculture industries are relatively new and have been established in the past 30 years. Overseas, various diseases have devastated the aquaculture industries with ongoing losses estimated to be of the order of $3 billion per annum. Australia has experienced few of these disease epidemics and its favourable health status enables Australia to market its seafood at premium prices and without health-based trade impediments. Over the past five years, a national program of exercises has been conducted to train both government staff and industry members in the management of disease emergencies.
In 2006, 66 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territori... more In 2006, 66 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territories reported a total of 138,511 cases of communicable diseases to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System: an increase of 10.4% on the number of notifications in 2005. In 2006, the most frequently notified diseases were sexually transmissible infections (57,941 notifications, 42% of total notifications), gastrointestinal diseases (27,931 notifications, 20% of total notifications) and vaccine preventable diseases (22,240 notifications, 16% of total notifications). There were 19,111 notifications of bloodborne diseases; 8,606 notifications of vectorborne diseases; 1,900 notifications of other bacterial infections; 767 notifications of zoonoses and 3 notifications of quarantinable diseases.
AGRIS record. Record number, XF2002407809. Titles, Asia diagnostic guide to aquaticanimal disease... more AGRIS record. Record number, XF2002407809. Titles, Asia diagnostic guide to aquaticanimal diseases. Personal Authors, Bondad-Reantaso, MG(Ed.),McGladdery, SE(Ed.),East, L.(Ed.),Subasinghe, R. Corporate Authors, FAO, Rome (Italy). ...
Summary H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is most likely to enter Australia via migra... more Summary H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is most likely to enter Australia via migratory shorebirds returning from Asia and become established through transfer to native waterfowl in shared ecosystems. Analysis of the location of wild bird habitat and abundance of wild bird species identified areas of highest risk for HPAI introduction and establishment. The proximity of poultry farms to these areas was used to identify farms at highest risk of exposure to HPAI. All Australian farms have a low risk of exposure to HPAI.
Annual reports With contributions from: National organisations Communicable Diseases Network Aust... more Annual reports With contributions from: National organisations Communicable Diseases Network Australia and subcommittees
An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Australia would trigger a major disease control and erad... more An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Australia would trigger a major disease control and eradication program that would include restriction of movement of live animals within defined disease control zones. Experiences from outbreaks in other countries show that restrictions that limit the ability to turn off stock can lead to animal welfare compromise on intensively managed farms that are not infected with the disease. Intensive pig farms are considered to be at high risk of developing welfare problems during a control program due to the imposed movement restrictions and limited space available to house growing pigs. This study was designed to investigate strategies that could be used to mitigate animal welfare problems on intensive pig farms during a simulated outbreak of foot and mouth disease in a livestock dense region of Australia. Three strategies for managing farms affected by animal welfare problems were assessed, including on-farm culling of grower and finisher pigs, on...
An outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) could seriously impact Australia's livestock sect... more An outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) could seriously impact Australia's livestock sector and economy. As an FMD-free country, an outbreak would trigger a major disease control and eradication program that would include the culling of infected and at risk animals ('stamping out'), movement restrictions and zoo-sanitary measures. Additional control measures may also include pre-emptive culling or vaccination. However, it is unclear what disease strategy would be most effective under Australian conditions and different resource levels. Using a stochastic simulation model that describes FMD transmission between farms in a livestock dense region of Australia, our results suggest that using current estimates of human resource capacity for surveillance, infected premises operations and vaccination, outbreaks were effectively controlled under a stamping out strategy. However, under more constrained resource allocations, ring vaccination was more likely to achieve eradicat...
To provide an overview and descriptive analysis of the 2011 arboviral disease epidemic in horses ... more To provide an overview and descriptive analysis of the 2011 arboviral disease epidemic in horses that involved three important Australian mosquito-borne viruses: Murray Valley encephalitis virus, West Nile virus (Kunjin strain) and Ross River virus. Data from states affected between January and June 2011 were collated and comprised reports of horses showing signs of neuromuscular disease and the associated laboratory findings. A summary of the data is presented, together with a spatiotemporal analysis of cases and preliminary assessment of rainfall patterns and case distribution. A total of 982 cases of equine arboviral disease were reported across Australia between January and June 2011. The majority of cases were reported from south-east Australia and included horses that developed neurological signs consistent with encephalitis. It was the largest epidemic of equine arboviral disease in Australia's history. Two likely causes for this unprecedented epidemic were the unusual weather events that preceded the epidemic and the emergence of a new strain of Kunjin virus. The epidemic highlights to horse owners and policy makers the potential for future outbreaks of arboviral diseases and the need for vigilance. It also highlights the complex interactions among hosts, vectors and climatic conditions that are required for such an outbreak to occur.
Disease managers face many challenges when deciding on the most effective control strategy to man... more Disease managers face many challenges when deciding on the most effective control strategy to manage an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Decisions have to be made under conditions of uncertainty and where the situation is continually evolving. In addition, resources for control are often limited. A modeling study was carried out to identify characteristics measurable during the early phase of a FMD outbreak that might be useful as predictors of the total number of infected places, outbreak duration, and the total area under control (AUC). The study involved two modeling platforms in two countries (Australia and New Zealand) and encompassed a large number of incursion scenarios. Linear regression, classification and regression tree, and boosted regression tree analyses were used to quantify the predictive value of a set of parameters on three outcome variables of interest: the total number of infected places, outbreak duration, and the total AUC. The number of infected premi...
In 2005, 60 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territori... more In 2005, 60 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territories reported a total of 125,461 cases of communicable diseases to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System: an increase of 10% on the number of notifications in 2004. In 2005, the most frequently notified diseases were sexually transmissible infections (51,557 notifications, 41% of total notifications), gastrointestinal diseases (29,422 notifications, 23%) and bloodborne diseases (19,278 notifications, 15%). There were 17,753 notifications of vaccine preventable diseases; 4,935 notifications of vectorborne diseases; 1,826 notification of other bacterial infections (legionellosis, leprosy, meningococcal infections and tuberculosis) and 687 notifications of zoonotic diseases.
Whilst emergency vaccination may help contain foot-and-mouth disease in a previously FMD-free cou... more Whilst emergency vaccination may help contain foot-and-mouth disease in a previously FMD-free country, its use complicates post-outbreak surveillance and the recovery of FMD-free status. A structured surveillance program is required that can distinguish between vaccinated and residually infected animals, and provide statistical confidence that the virus is no longer circulating in previously infected areas. Epidemiological models have been well-used to investigate the potential benefits of emergency vaccination during a control progam and when/where/whom to vaccinate in the face of finite supplies of vaccine and personnel. Less well studied are post-outbreak issues such as the management of vaccinated animals and the implications of having used vaccination during surveillance regimes to support proof-of-freedom. This paper presents enhancements to the Australian Animal Disease Model (AADIS) that allow comparisons of different post-outbreak surveillance sampling regimes for establish...
The Australian journal of emergency management, 2004
Within Australia, most aquaculture industries are relatively new and have been established in the... more Within Australia, most aquaculture industries are relatively new and have been established in the past 30 years. Overseas, various diseases have devastated the aquaculture industries with ongoing losses estimated to be of the order of $3 billion per annum. Australia has experienced few of these disease epidemics and its favourable health status enables Australia to market its seafood at premium prices and without health-based trade impediments. Over the past five years, a national program of exercises has been conducted to train both government staff and industry members in the management of disease emergencies.
In 2006, 66 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territori... more In 2006, 66 diseases and conditions were nationally notifiable in Australia. States and territories reported a total of 138,511 cases of communicable diseases to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System: an increase of 10.4% on the number of notifications in 2005. In 2006, the most frequently notified diseases were sexually transmissible infections (57,941 notifications, 42% of total notifications), gastrointestinal diseases (27,931 notifications, 20% of total notifications) and vaccine preventable diseases (22,240 notifications, 16% of total notifications). There were 19,111 notifications of bloodborne diseases; 8,606 notifications of vectorborne diseases; 1,900 notifications of other bacterial infections; 767 notifications of zoonoses and 3 notifications of quarantinable diseases.
AGRIS record. Record number, XF2002407809. Titles, Asia diagnostic guide to aquaticanimal disease... more AGRIS record. Record number, XF2002407809. Titles, Asia diagnostic guide to aquaticanimal diseases. Personal Authors, Bondad-Reantaso, MG(Ed.),McGladdery, SE(Ed.),East, L.(Ed.),Subasinghe, R. Corporate Authors, FAO, Rome (Italy). ...
Summary H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is most likely to enter Australia via migra... more Summary H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is most likely to enter Australia via migratory shorebirds returning from Asia and become established through transfer to native waterfowl in shared ecosystems. Analysis of the location of wild bird habitat and abundance of wild bird species identified areas of highest risk for HPAI introduction and establishment. The proximity of poultry farms to these areas was used to identify farms at highest risk of exposure to HPAI. All Australian farms have a low risk of exposure to HPAI.
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