Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Victoria participates in the national Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Freedom Assurance Program (TSEFAP).

The TSEFAP aims to enhance market confidence that Australian animals and animal products are free from Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or 'mad cow disease') and scrapie, through the structured and nationally integrated management of animal-related TSE activities. This is achieved by the multiple components of the TSEFAP:

1. active TSE surveillance
2. ruminant feeding restrictions, including audit, feed sampling and testing
3. imported ruminant surveillance, including buy-back schemes for targeted cattle
4. research and development, including validation, adoption and technology transfer of diagnostic tests.

The TSEFAP is funded by industry and governments and managed by Animal Health Australia.

Active TSE surveillance in Victoria

Australia is free from BSE and scrapie. However, to continue to be classified as 'free' and to maintain access to international markets, there is an active surveillance program in place to detect cases of BSE and scrapie, should they occur. This program is known as the TSE Surveillance program.

An incentive scheme is funded by industry.

Producers who have suitably sick animals autopsied for the program are entitled to claim $330 GST free for cattle and $110 GST free for sheep.

Private vets who are called to examine cases of nervous disease in cattle, sheep and goats, and submit samples and case histories to government laboratories can claim a rebate per case of up to:

• $374 GST inclusive for cattle
• $242 GST inclusive for sheep
• $137.50 (GST inclusive) for goats.

Eligible for program

To be eligible for the program, cattle must be 30 months or older and sheep and goats must be 18 months or older. They must show nervous signs that can include (but are not limited to):

• abnormal behaviour
• gait and sensitivity to sound and touch
• and for sheep/goats, persistent itchiness.

More information on the National TSE Surveillance program can be found on the Animal Health Australia website.

Veterinarians wishing to submit cases for the NTSESP must examine the NTSESP Guidelines for Field Operations at Animal Health Australia and consult the department's District Veterinary or Animal Health Officers before submitting cases. This is to ensure that animals meet eligibility criteria and sample and documentation requirements are clearly understood. Incentive payments to producers and veterinarians are then assured.

For vets already familiar with the program, the relevant laboratory submission form, clinical history or necropsy report form and an application form for cattle and sheep compensation are included.

NLIS or RFID tag details must be included on the clinical history or necropsy report form.

Download:

• Laboratory submission form   (WORD - 138.5 KB)
• Clinical history/necropsy report form (WORD - 82.9 KB)
• Claim form for incentive payments (WORD - 114.2 KB)
• TSE submissions and reporting – Checklist (WORD - 57.5 KB)

Ruminant feeding restrictions

Australia has banned the feeding of certain animal-derived materials to ruminants. These materials are known as restricted animal materials (RAM) and include meat, fish, eggs and poultry meals (including feathers) but do not include gelatin, milk, tallow or fish oils. The ban is known as the Ruminant Feed Ban (RFB).

Australia is free of BSE. The RFB serves to maintain this freedom by ensuring that if the agent causing BSE were to spontaneously occur or to be inadvertently introduced to Australia, it would not be able to establish a cycle of infection within the ruminant population.

Each of Australia's state and territory animal health authorities has developed similar but not identical legislation and are responsible for creating awareness, performing audits and enforcing legislation relating to the ban within their jurisdictions that follow nationally agreed guidelines and meet nationally agreed targets. In Victoria, those responsibilities are owned and given high priority by the department's animal health and welfare group. A target number of audits have to be conducted in each region each year as part of Victoria's RFB auditing program.

The RFB auditing program compliments quality assurance (QA) programs already existing within the livestock feed industry. Many but not all of the companies producing stock feeds are members of the Stock Feed Manufacturers Council of Australia (SFMCA). The SFMCA has introduced an independently audited QA program called FeedSafe sets standards of feed production that includes measures to protect ruminant feeds against contamination with RAM.

Private vets visiting farms are asked to watch for instances where ruminants might be exposed to RAM and take action to advise the farmer and prevent the risk. These instances are most likely to occur on farms where ruminants might gain access to discarded, spilt or stored pig, poultry and dog foods.

Research and development

(including validation, adoption and technology transfer of diagnostic tests)

The department has contributed significantly to the evaluation of new rapid tests for TSEs in Australia since 1998.