The Pilot NSW Sheep Health Monitoring Program
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Since early 2006, experienced inspectors have been checking the internal organs of adult sheep at the major NSW export abattoirs including Dubbo, Goulburn and Wallangarra.
Over 3,600 direct consignments comprising 960,000 sheep were monitored in 2006.
The table below shows the conditions being monitored by this exciting new program and the total number of detections during 2006. These conditions include liver fluke, sheep measles (Cysticercus ovis), hydatids, nodule worm, bladder worm, OJD vaccine lesions, cheesy gland (CLA), pneumonia and a range of other conditions.
Clicking on the blue links in the table below will provide more information.
View the total consignments map.
| Condition | No. of consignments | % consignment positive | Total No. of animals monitored (1,000's) |
% animals positive | Consignment map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bladder worm liver damage (Cysticercus tenuicollis) |
3081 | 59.6% | 826 | 13.64% | |
| Liver fluke | 3608 | 34.1% | 964 | 9.73% | |
| Sheep measles | 3608 | 36.2% | 964 | 3.28% | |
| Pleurisy-pneumonia | 3608 | 32.8% | 964 | 3.15% | view map |
| Cheesy gland (CLA) | 3608 | 17.0% | 964 | 1.34% | view map |
| Hydatids | 3608 | 2.0% | 964 | 0.21% | view map |
| Nodule worm/ knotty gut/ pimply gut | 3608 | 1.4% | 964 | 0.20% | view map |
| Sarcocyst | 3608 | 2.1% | 964 | 0.16% | view map |
| OJD vaccine abscesses | 3608 | 0.5% | 964 | 0.12% | view map |
| Dog bites | 3081 | 0.2% | 825 | <0.01% | |
| Other vaccine abscesses | 3081 | 0.2% | 825 | <0.01% | |
| Grass seed abscesses | 3081 | nil | 825 | nil |
The June 2007 Agriculture Today article 'Options for monitoring disease status' provides more information about the Pilot Sheep Health Monitoring Program.
NSW DPI manager special surveillance projects Dr Ian Links said the program would provide important information for both the NSW sheep industry and individual producers on a wide range of endemic diseases associated with significant production loss on-farm or during processing in the abattoir.
These results are currently provided on a regular basis to the abattoirs to assist with their quality assurance. Contact the District Veterinarian at your local Livestock Health & Pest Authority, I&I NSW Livestock Officer (sheep) or your veterinary or animal health advisor for further information about any of the conditions monitored in this program.
This pilot program has been jointly funded by WoolProducers Australia, Sheepmeat Council of Australia and I&I NSW.
Reporting to producers
Individual producers should soon be able to receive feedback on the disease status of their sheep, if the animals have been monitored as part of the Pilot NSW Sheep Health Monitoring Program.
I&I NSW is now exploring options for mailing to individual producers the disease status results for their sheep, if the animals have been monitored as part of the NSW Sheep Health Monitoring Program. Any producer who does not wish to receive feedback on this monitoring is requested to contact I&I NSW by fax on (02) 6938 1995 or by email to abmon.nsw@industry.nsw.gov.au.
Highlights from the information collected
Hydatids – were detected at quite a low level (2.0 per cent of consignments) but are very important due to the human health risks. This is a timely reminder that producers should be careful about feeding offal to their dogs and should worm their dogs regularly to control the Echinococcus tapeworm which acts as a source of infection.
Liver Fluke – many consignments had 3 per cent or more livers affected causing significant loss to the processors (approximately $1 per affected liver). Many flocks had 30 per cent or more affected livers indicating poor fluke control and significant on-farm production loss. Effective control measures are available.
Sheep Measles (Cysticercus ovis) – Sheep measles are a cystic stage in the lifecycle of the dog tapeworm Taenia ovis which cause condemnation of carcases or parts of carcases at abattoirs. The small cysts are about the size of a grain of rice and can occur in muscles throughout the body, particularly heart, diaphragm, cheeks and tongue. While not dangerous for humans, the presence of undetected cysts is an aesthetic defect of serious concern to markets. Sheep Measles has a similar life cycle to hydatids and bladder worm.
Bladder Worm (Cysticercus tenuicollis) - was found to be a very common cause of liver damage and like liver fluke causes rejection of livers at slaughter. It is the cystic form of a tapeworm found in dogs and cats. The larvae migrate through the liver and leave tortuous white tracks or form watery cysts on the surface of the liver.
Cheesy gland (CLA) – is easily preventable by vaccination yet around 17 per cent of consignments had at least one animal with affected lymph nodes that can result in trimming of carcases.
Nodule worm, “knotty gut” or “pimply gut” – was present in relatively few consignments in 2006. It is caused by the Oesophagostomum columbianum round worm, a parasite of warmer/summer rainfall areas. This parasite can build up over a series of wet seasons and in bad years can cause major losses at processing as damage to the intestines makes them unsuitable for “sausage casings”. The low detection rate in 2006 was undoubtedly one of the few benefits from the drought. Producers with detections should be reconsidering their management and control strategies when the seasons improve.
OJD Vaccination abscesses – despite more than 7.7 million sheep having been vaccinated for OJD in NSW from 2001-2006 there were very few instances where vaccination abscesses have been detected at slaughter. These abscesses are considered due to poor vaccination technique and producers need to be aware if their sheep are affected.