SHEEPMEAT Council of Australia and WoolProducers Australia said it was important that sheep producers adopted a variety of tools to manage Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) as part of their overall risk management plan.
Sheepmeat Council of Australia and WoolProducers Australia strongly encourage sheep producers to vaccinate against OJD and consider other tools to keep OJD risk to a minimum.
Don Hamblin, President of WoolProducers Australia, said tools such as pasture and grazing management should be considered as part of a property’s overall OJD risk management plan.
“Lambs are highly susceptible to infection before and after weaning so lambing ewes should be placed on low contamination pastures and lambs weaned early if you know ewes are infected,” Mr Hamblin said.
Mr Hamblin added that sourcing information about the OJD risk status of a flock prior to purchase is a very important step in preventing OJD infection.
“Simply ask for a National Sheep Health Statement to find out the ABC score and OJD risk of the sheep you’re thinking of buying,” Mr Hamblin said.
Kate Joseph, President of Sheepmeat Council of Australia, said that while vaccination is a key tool to minimise the risk of sheep contracting OJD, it would not eradicate the disease.
“Recent research commissioned by the sheep industries to determine the effectiveness of sustained vaccination programs in eradicating the disease has shown that Gudair vaccine is effective in stopping sheep mortalities from OJD. However, vaccination alone will not eradicate the disease from an infected flock,” Ms Joseph said.
Ms Joseph said that producers should also be aware that buying vaccinated sheep from an infected flock doesn’t eliminate the risk of buying infected sheep.
“The ‘Assurance Based Credit’ (ABC) score is an important indicator in assessing the risk of introducing sheep onto a property. Compare the ABC score of your own flock with that of what you intend to purchase so you can assess the risk of introducing infected sheep onto your property. The higher the ABC score, the lower the OJD risk status of the concerned sheep,” Ms Joseph said.
Producers can minimise the spread of Johne's disease by sourcing replacement animals from Market Assurance Program (MAP) assessed flocks. The sheep MAP is a voluntary program for producers that enable them to identify and promote their negative Johne's disease status to their clients.
For further information visit: sheepmeatcouncil.com.au
