Australia’s OIE List A Disease Free Status

Unlike many other countries and continents, Australia and New Zealand are free of List A animal diseases as defined by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Detailed information on Australia’s animal health status can be obtained from the following Animal Health Australia website link: www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/aahc/status/ahia.cfm.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Geographical Risk

The final opinion of the OIE’s Scientific Steering Committee’s (SSC) assessment of Australia’s geographical BSE risk was published in 2000. The full report of this opinion is available at the following: www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/ssc/out113_en.pdf.

The Geographical BSE-Risk (GBR) is a qualitative indicator of the likelihood of the presence of one or more cattle being infected with BSE, pre-clinically as well as clinically, at a given point in time, in a particular country. Where presence is confirmed, the GBR is an indication of the level of infection.

Australia is one of a few countries that has a current geographical BSE-risk (GBR) level of I, i.e. it is highly unlikely that domestic cattle in these countries are clinically or pre-clinically infected with the BSE-agent. This is the the lowest level of BSE-risk as defined by the SSC. 
 

Other Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs)

Scrapie is a TSE that affects sheep and goats, whilst Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a TSE that affects cervids such as mule deer, white tail deer and elk.

CWD in elk and deer is a relatively new disease. It was first identified in 1967 in deer at a research facility in Colorado, USA. Scientists have not been able to identify the cause of CWD or its mode of transmission. It has been suggested that infected deer and elk may transmit the disease through animal-to-animal contact and/or through contamination of feed or water sources with saliva or faeces.

CWD has been reported in the United States and in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was first diagnosed in farmed elk in Saskatchewan in 1996. The disease is thought to have been introduced by elk imported from the United States in the late 1980s.

Australia and New Zealand have been declared TSE free in accordance with OIE guidelines.

Advantages of using Australian and New Zealand Animal Derived Biologicals

Animal derived biologicals from Australia and New Zealand are the most sought after by companies globally.

The advantages of sourcing animal-derived biologicals from Australia and New Zealand include:

• unrestricted regulatory access of intermediate or finished goods to all global destinations
• compliance with international guidelines for sourcing animal derived biologicals
• simpler registration processes for products manufactured from Australian or New Zealand derived biologicals
• premium quality due to the geographical isolation of Australia and New Zealand.

Full traceability of Australian biologicals is available through the National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS). Refer to the foetal bovine serum page of this website for more details on the NLIS.