Developing a risk-based surveillance system of wildlife disease in NSW

disease surveillance

Status: New

Start date: 15 June 2024

Completion date: 15 June 2026

Project code: M-205

Species/Threats: Emergency Animal Disease (EAD)

Mustering beef cattle in the landscape.

Summary

The risk of Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) incursions into Australia has risen recently.

If an EAD (such as Foot and Mouth disease) spreads to wild animals, it might take a long time to detect, making eradication difficult. This could severely impact economies and livestock producers.

This project will test and improve a surveillance system to detect EAD incursions in wild animals in New South Wales (NSW). This work is essential for quick responses to EAD incursions. Although focused on NSW, the results will benefit other areas too.

Objectives

The objectives of this project are:

  1. Establish a risk-based framework for adaptive sampling to detect and respond to Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) incursions in wild host populations in NSW.
  2. Efficiently estimate pathogen distribution and prevalence, ensuring timely responses.
  3. Protect livestock production and trade by minimising the impact of EAD incursions in wild hosts.

Project team

Dr Andrew Bengsen

Project Lead | NSW DPIRD

Project partners

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