control & eradication

Question 1

what is control of infectious disease?

Answer 1

control refers to a reduction &/or frequency of a disease by:

• treating diseased animal to reduce prevalence & impact
• preventing new cases from occurring to reduce incidence & prevalence

Question 2

what is eradication of infectious diseases?

Answer 2

• extinction of an infectious agent
• elimination of an infectious agent from a defined area
• functional elimination of an infectious agent from a defined area: reduction in prevalence to a point where transmission does not occur/where disease is no longer a problem

Question 3

how do we prove or disprove elimination of an infectious agent from an area?

Answer 3

• cannot prove for certain that an infectious agent has been eradicated from a particular area
• we generally test from a sample of population & not every single host animal is tested

Question 4

how are proof of freedom concepts & approaches used for control/eradication?

Answer 4

• proof of freedom concepts are mathematical models that provide a leave of confidence that an area is free of disease
• do not necessarily provide 100% confidence that agent has been eliminated

Question 5

when may the eradication of an infectious agent be possible?

Answer 5

• agent is highly host specific
• very high pathogenicity & virulence
• short incubation periods & clinical signs appear before patient is infectious to others
• no chronic shedding rate - either die or recover with lifelong immunity
• high effective, heat-stable vaccine
• vaccine had a rapid response

Question 6

describe Australia’s national list of notifiable animal diseases

Answer 6

• is based on the international list of important animal diseases managed be OIE
• all OIE countries must report occurrences of these diseases

Question 7

describe the state & territory lists of notifiable diseases

Answer 7

• include all of the national list of diseases & possible additional diseases important for a state

Question 8

what is the emergency animal disease list?

Answer 8

• is a national list of diseases or importance, mainly exotic diseases & high impact diseases
• EAD response agreement is between national & state government & industry bodies
• have pre-prepared formal agreements on how a response will be managed & who will pay

Question 9

what are the benefits of disease control or eradication?

Answer 9

• maintains or improves animal health, wellbeing & production
• allows for market access
• human health benefits
• social amenity
• protect producers in unaffected regions from disease introduction from affected areas
• protection from introduction of exotic diseases

Question 10

what do you do if you have a confirmed diagnosis of a disease that is on the national list of notifiable animal diseases?

Answer 10

must notify state animal health authorities & follow advice

Question 11

what do you do if you have a confirmed diagnosis of a disease that is not on the national list of notifiable animal diseases?

Answer 11

• discuss options with animal owner

- decision about control is made by owner & veterinarian

Question 12

what happens if you are involved in a new or unknown disease case?

Answer 12

if disease event or unknown case is having a high impact:

• notify state animal health authorities
• follow advice (further investigation, possible state or national response)

Question 13

what is biosecurity?

Answer 13

actions taken to keep a country free of unwanted organisms & for controlling, managing or eradicating them if they arrive

Question 14

what strategies could be used in control & eradication programs?

Answer 14

• quarantine
• isolation
• cull or slaughter of test-positive or high risk animals
• vaccination of healthy animals to prevent infection if exposed in future
• drug treatments to treat sick animals
• movement control
• control of vector and reservoir hosts
• animal husbandry
• genetic selection for heritable traits for disease resistance