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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS |
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| TUESDAY - MAY 12, 2009 | |
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Animal Disease In A Shrinking World |
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Dr. Gardner MURRAY Regional President OIE Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East & Oceana PO Box 4215, Weston Creek Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia
Tel: +61 262 889471 +61 417 236 184
Gardner Murray manages a small company specialising in biosecurity, international animal health, emergency management, market access, animal welfare and policy and strategic planning. He has qualifications in both veterinary medicine and surgery, and management. He is an adviser to organisations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Gardner currently is President of the OIE Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East and Oceania, President of the OIE Sub Commission for Foot and Mouth Disease control in South East Asia, Chair of the Australian High Security Laboratory Strategic Policy Group, a Governing Board Member of the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre and Chair of its International Advisory Committee of Experts. (Dr. Murray continued below)
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“The Development of
Dr. Gardener MURRAY Regional President OIE Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East and Oceania
Animal welfare is a complex, multi-faceted international policy issue where economic, scientific, social, cultural, religious, language and animal health considerations need to be taken into account when developing strategies. The inclusion of animal welfare in the 3rd World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Strategic Plan (2001-2005) recognized the need for inter governmental leadership in the development of science based policies and guidelines. Since then guidelines covering animal transport by sea, land and air; slaughter for human consumption and disease control purposes have been unanimously agreed. Additional guidelines on production, aquatic and laboratory animals as well as stray dog control are being developed. A critical issue is implementation of guidelines. OIE supported by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) have worked with countries in the Region to develop a broad based Regional Animal Welfare Strategy (RAWS) to provide an overarching framework to support implementation and allow individual countries to customize their approaches to meet their particular welfare needs and priorities. The RAWS Vision is - ‘A Region where the welfare of animals is respected, promoted and incrementally advanced simultaneously with the pursuit of progress and socioeconomic development.’ Critical to the successful development of the RAWS and its future implementation has been and will be the ongoing support of OIE member states, industry, welfare organisations, scientist and vets. DAFF is to be thanked for funding the development of the RAWS; and also for its support, with the Australian industry, in progressing the development of welfare strategies in the Middle East.
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(Dr. Murray continued) He was formerly Executive Director of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and the Australian Bureau of Rural Resources and was, for many years, the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer. He has led teams of experts to advise countries and international organisations on a range of matters including the Hong Kong Equestrian Event (Beijing Olympics) food safety and biosecurity (Singapore), emergency management and animal welfare (FAO), and Trypanotolerance in Africa (CGIAR). Gardner has given talks and published on a range of matters relating to his expertise and has received a number of awards. These include: Officer in the Order of Australia, Australian Centenary Medal, OIE Gold Medal, honorary Doctorate from the University of Glasgow, honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and Vietnamese medallion for the cause of agriculture and rural development. [ Back to Top ] |
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Dr. Peter WALKER
Research
Stream Leader CSIRO Livestock Systems Australian Animal Health Laboratory 5 Portarlington Road Geelong, VIC 3220 Australia
Tel: +61 3-5227-5000 Fax: +61 3-5227-5400
Dr. Peter Walker is a virologist with expertise in a wide range of diseases of livestock and aquatic animals. He is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong and leads a Research Stream that aims to reduce the risks of emergence and spread of diseases of livestock and diseases that affect both animals and man (zoonoses). His current research activities are focused on climate-sensitive, insect-borne viral diseases, including bluetongue and bovine ephemeral fever. He works closely with Australian governments, Australian industry, and collaborators in Asia and elsewhere to translate cutting edge research into disease risk management solutions.
(Dr. WALKER continued below)
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“Climate Change and the Emergence of
Vector-Borne
Dr. Peter WALKER Research Stream Leader— Disease Emergence Risks CSIRO Livestock Systems Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
Global warming is arguably the most urgent and profoundly important issue of our time. Sea ice is melting. Water vapour is rising. Climate models predict increasing frequency of floods, droughts and other severe weather events, warmer winters, changing wind patterns and bursts of heavy precipitation. Predicted increases in global temperatures and associated extreme weather events are likely to result in an increase in the prevalence and distribution of many vector (insect)-borne diseases. Insects are ectothermic, intimately linking their biology to the environment. Temperature and humidity influence fecundity, survival rate, blood feeding frequency and the distribution range of insects. Temperature can also affect the rate of virus replication in the insect, and its ability to transmit the virus; rainfall can influence the availability of potential insect breeding sites; and wind can influence the dispersal of insects within and beyond their normal range. One of the most dramatic examples of the impact of climate change has been the emergence and spread of bluetongue disease in Europe. For most of recorded history, bluetongue disease has occurred only rarely and briefly in Europe. However, since1998, several BTV serotypes have swept in from the Middle-East and Africa, causing epidemics across most of southern Europe from the Balkan states to Spain. The establishment of the principal insect vector of BTV in southern Europe, and adaptation to local vectors, have been attributed to changes in precipitation patterns, warmer winters and higher average night-time temperatures associated with global warming. Although the situation in southern Europe had been long predicted, the emergence and establishment of bluetongue in northern Europe was unexpected and somewhat more alarming. BTV first appeared in the Netherlands in the mid-summer of 2006 and is now endemic in the UK, Scandinavia and across much of northern Europe, reaching into Spain in the south-west and as far eastwards as Hungary. The appearance of BTV coincided with significantly higher summer temperatures than at any time in recorded history. Its distribution now lies well beyond the range of the principal vector species and the cycle of transmission has involved adaptation to local cool-climate vectors. The BTV-8 epidemic in Europe is also characterised by disease and mortalities in both sheep and cattle. The economic impact in France alone was estimated to have already exceeded $1.4 billion in 2007, mostly in lost trade. There is evidence that other vector-borne diseases of livestock and humans are also on the move, challenging many of the paradigms that have been developed for disease surveillance and control. PowerPoint Presentation |
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(Dr. WALKER continued) Dr. Walker is an expert advisor to the OIE and has been a consultant to inter-government organisations such as FAO and APEC. He has over 100 published research papers and book chapters in the field of viral diseases and is an Associate Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Virology. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland and a member of the Executive Committee of the Australian Biosecurity CRC.Dr. Walker was born and educated in Brisbane. He obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland in 1981 and presented his thesis on the genetics of bluetongue viruses. He spent several years of post-doctoral study at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and at the Institute of Virology in Oxford. After 2 years with the Queensland Government, he joined CSIRO in Brisbane in 1987 and moved to a senior position at AAHL in 2004. [ Back to Top ] |
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Dr. Kevin DUNN Interim Inspector General of Horse Importation Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 18 Marcus Clarke St. Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
Tel: +61 434 735 475 (within Australia 0434 735 475)
Dr. Kevin Dunn is a veterinarian who has had many years of private practice and public animal health experience. He has had extensive experience in international quarantine and was primarily involved in Australian import and export policy and procedures in the 1980 and early 1990s. He served as Australia’s Veterinary Counsellor at the Australian Mission to the European Union in Brussels from 1988-1991.
His career moved to the Queensland Government in 1992. He served in the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries until 2006 where he was the senior executive manager responsible for agricultural biosecurity. He was also the Chief Veterinary Officer of Queensland from 1992-2006.
During that time he led the response and investigation of the initial Hendra virus outbreak in horses in Brisbane in 1994. He also led several emergency responses in agricultural biosecurity in Queensland including outbreaks of avian influenza, anthrax and Japanese encephalitis.
Since 2006, he has operated a consulting business in biosecurity.
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“Lessons Learned
Dr. Kevin DUNN Interim Inspector General of Horse Importation Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
For several decades, Australia has imported horses by air from certain overseas countries. Equine influenza occurs in all of these countries except New Zealand. With the exception of one devastating set of events in August 2007, the quarantine procedures implemented in this trade have been successful in preventing entry of equine influenza to the Australian horse population. The 2007 outbreak involved more that 10,000 horse properties and infected almost 80,000 horses. An intensive national emergency animal disease response resulted in the outbreak being successfully contained and eradicated. During this response, there was significant disruption to the equine industry, especially in the infected states of New South Wales and Queensland. Following the outbreak, a national Commission of Inquiry identified a number of serious shortcomings in horse import quarantine and in the implementation of import requirements. As a consequence to the Australian Government’s response to the recommendations of the Inquiry, significant changes have been made and continue to be made to the management system, import requirements and operational procedures that relate to the ongoing importation of horses. Increased focus on total risk management in standards and procedures is being applied throughout the importation process, from the overseas pre-export quarantine to the release of horses following post-arrival quarantine in Australia. This short presentation covers salient aspects of the outbreak, its aftermath and measures taken in Australia since 2007 to prevent further occurrences, with particular reference to import procedures. PowerPoint Presentation |
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(Dr. DUNN continued) In September 2008, he took on the role of Interim Inspector General of Horse Importation in Australia. In this independent role, he conducts auditing and inspection and provides reports to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry regarding the implementation of quarantine arrangements for the import of horses to Australia. This role was instituted as part of the Australian Government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry into the Equine Influenza Outbreak in Australia. It involves inspection and audit of equine quarantine premises and operating procedures in Australia and in overseas exporting countries. Dr. Walker was born and educated in Brisbane. He obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland in 1981 and presented his thesis on the genetics of bluetongue viruses. He spent several years of post-doctoral study at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and at the Institute of Virology in Oxford. After 2 years with the Queensland Government, he joined CSIRO in Brisbane in 1987 and moved to a senior position at AAHL in 2004. [ Back to Top ] |
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Last Updated: 29-Jun-2009 |
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