National wildlife health surveillance programs
4.2.1 WHA Coordinator Group and Environment Representatives
The WHA Coordinator Group provides a framework for coordination and reporting of wildlife disease information into eWHIS: a web-enabled national database of wildlife health information.
Each jurisdiction has a WHA Coordinator, appointed by their CVO and represents their animal health agency. They are supported by a WHA Environment Representative who represents the jurisdiction’s environment agency.In addition to the state and territory WHA Coordinators and Environment Representatives, this group includes representatives from DAFF, other Commonwealth agencies and industry/sector organisations such as ARWH, NAQS, ACDP and AHA.
Each WHA Coordinator regularly reports wildlife disease events from their jurisdiction into eWHIS. The members of the group participate in regular meetings, which provide a forum to discuss wildlife events and issues nationally.
4.2.2 Sentinel surveillance program
A national Sentinel Surveillance Program incorporates disease information from a network of veterinary clinics, zoo-based wildlife hospitals and universities into eWHIS. These partners together see a large caseload of
Fig. 1.2. Conceptual model of Australia's wildlife health surveillance system. Acronyms used are presented in Table 1.1. Australia's animal health system includes all organisations, government agencies, commercial companies, universities and individuals. A dedicated organisation, Wildlife Health Australia, facilitates activities and provides coordination of the national wildlife health surveillance component.
free-ranging wildlife (e.g. Cox-Witton et al. 2014), which represents a significant surveillance effort. As well as providing expertise in veterinary care, these partners have strong links to a network of wildlife rehabilitation, conservation, research and welfare organisations in their region and further broaden the wider wildlife health surveillance framework for Australia.
Through the Sentinel Surveillance Program, valuable wildlife health surveillance data is collected from a broad geographic and species range, including threatened species, which complements data reported through government agencies and further increases Australia’s capacity for early detection of emerging diseases.
Other important programs that perform surveillance for wildlife diseases include the DAFF’s NAQS program and AMRRIC. NAQS operates across an area of ~10 000 km across coastal northern Australia and the Torres Strait. AMRRIC works with remote and rural Indigenous communities in central and northern Australia.
4.2.3 Other elements of the program
Wildlife disease events are also reported to the national system on an ad hoc basis by wildlife rehabilitators, researchers, other wildlife health professionals and members of the public. Australia’s general surveillance arrangements for wildlife are supported by several other activities including a BHFG, Universities Focus Group, capacity building, and complement Australia’s work relating to international activities, predominantly in line with WOAH’s Wildlife Health Framework.
A conceptual model of Australia’s wildlife health surveillance system is presented in Fig. 1.2.
5.