Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), Mark Schipp used’ One Health Day’ this month to highlight the importance of Australia’s disease surveillance and preparedness activities.
Dr Schipp said the activities held on 3 November were vital to protecting people and animals from diseases spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes, biting midges (sandflies), ticks and fleas.
He said these vector-borne diseases highlighted the important reality of the One Health concept — how the health of people, animals and our shared environment were all interconnected.
“Examples of vector-borne diseases include Japanese encephalitis, a rare but serious infection of the brain, which is spread by mosquitoes, and canine ehrlichiosis, a potentially fatal disease of dogs, caused by the bacterium Ehrlichia canis which is spread by brown dog ticks,” Dr Schipp said.
“The occurrence and distribution of disease vectors is affected by environmental weather conditions and, with climate change contributing to warming temperatures, there is a risk that the abundance of these mosquitoes, midges, ticks and fleas may increase.”
He said the DAWE had undertaken a range of surveillance and preparedness activities to protect people and animals from vector-borne diseases.
“The Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy conducts surveillance for mosquito-borne diseases such as Japanese encephalitis in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York, Queensland, and in the Tiwi Islands and Northern Territory, during the monsoonal season,” Dr Schipp said.
“The surveillance involves mosquito trapping and serological testing of samples from domestic and feral animals.”
He said projects were also under way across northern Australia to address concerns about the potential transmission of tick-borne diseases, including Ehrlichia canis, in remote communities.
“The Department is funding canine ehrlichiosis management programs in northern Australia, with a focus on community engagement and research collaboration prioritising animal management and animal welfare,” Dr Schipp said.
