Livestock health & diseases

Western Australia’s freedom from many pests and diseases allows our livestock producers access to a wide range of international and domestic markets. To maintain this enviable biosecurity status, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development ensures significant livestock disease is investigated. This information helps to assure trading partners that we are free of diseases.

Some diseases can have devastating effects on the livelihoods of everyone in the supply chain. To ensure the impacts on the economy and community are minimised, the department maintains trained, response-ready staff and systems to ensure an emergency animal disease incident is promptly and efficiently controlled. In addition, the risk of introduction of exotic disease is also managed by ensuring stockfeed contains appropriate ingredients.

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Articles

  • Yellow swollen liver with swollen gall bladder

    Lupinosis in sheep

    18 December 2014

    Lupinosis is a liver disease mainly caused by the consumption of lupin stalks colonised by the fungus Diaporthe toxica. It can be expressed as either a severe acute disease or as a chronic

  • An unmarked lamb in the yard

    Managing flystrike in sheep

    29 November 2013

    Flystrike is a significant health and welfare risk to Australian sheep and costs $280 million annually.

  • Itch mite as seen under a microscope, from skin scraping.

    Itch mite in sheep

    5 December 2013

    Itch mites are small, barely visible parasites of sheep; they live on the skin surface and cause rubbing and fleece chewing in a small proportion of infested animals.

  • Sheep drinking at a dam

    Water quality for livestock

    3 December 2014

    Measure water quality and quantity to effectively plan and monitor water supplies for livestock.

  • Racing Pigeon

    Pigeon rotavirus in Western Australia

    23 January 2017

    Pigeon rotavirus was first detected in Western Australia as a result of investigation of a disease outbreak in racing pigeons in May and June 2016.

  • Nine pink adult free range pigs standing in various positions on dirt.

    Keep pigs healthy - follow the biosecurity checklist

    10 December 2013

    Pig owners play a vital role in maintaining Western Australia's high animal health status and reputation as a producer of quality livestock and livestock products.

  • Dr Kristine Rayner with cattle

    SMS livestock surveillance networks

    17 September 2018

    Cattle producers in the shires of Albany, Denmark and Plantagenet in Western Australia and sheep producers in the shires of Esperance and Ravensthorpe are invited to participate in local surveillan

  • Pastoral cattle

    Northern Australian Biosecurity Surveillance (NABS) activities in Western Australia

    21 May 2018

    The Northern Australia Biosecurity Surveillance (NABS) project is a coordinated surveillance program to enhance the early detection of exotic disease incursions and to provide sufficient surveillan

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    Preventing calf scours in beef herds

    28 November 2013

    ‘Calf scours’ is when young calves develop diarrhoea and become dehydrated. The scour can be white, yellow, grey or blood-stained, and is often foul-smelling.

  • Diarrhoea in adult cattle

    22 May 2018

    There are a variety of possible causes of diarrhoea in adult cattle and they are often different to the common causes of diarrhoea, or scours, in calves.

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