Reporting animal disease

Suspected animal diseases must be reported immediately to one of the following:

  • Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline
  • your private veterinarian
  • the nearest animal health adviser or government veterinarian officer.

Quick reporting can prevent a major outbreak. We will determine whether a significant or notifiable disease is occurring.

Failure to report an emergency animal disease (EAD) is illegal and may result in a fine or prosecution.

Emergency Animal Disease Hotline

Call us immediately if you suspect disease or pests in livestock, poultry or aquatic animals, even if you are unsure. Help us stop the spread of animal illness.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Freecall 1800 675 888

Veterinary information and resources

Manage a suspected emergency animal disease

Notifiable diseases

Animal diseases that are a national threat are known as notifiable diseases. These include:

Learn about the most significant diseases, infections, and infestations to look out for below.

South Australian notifiable diseases

Bees with:

  • Melissococcus pluten (European foulbrood)
  • Paenibacillus larvae (American foulbrood)

Aquatic species with:

  • Aeromonas salmonicida - atypical strains
  • Aphanomyces invadans (epizootic ulcerative syndrome)
  • Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
  • Bonamia exitiosa
  • Epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus
  • Ostreid herpesvirus-1
  • Perkinsus olseni
  • Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy

Other species with:

  • Aino virus
  • Akabane virus
  • Anaplasma marginale (bovine anaplasmosis)
  • Babesia bovis, B. bigemina or B. divergens (bovine babesiosis)
  • Bovine ephemeral fever
  • Bovine leukaemia virus (enzootic bovine leucosis)
  • Brucella suis
  • Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis)
  • Chlamydophilia pecorum (sporadic bovine encephalomyelitis)
  • Cysticercus bovis caused by Taenia saginata (bovine cysticercosis)
  • Ehrlichia canis (ehrlichiosis)
  • Escherichia coli (verotoxigenic strains)
  • Equine herpes virus-1 (abortigenic and neurological strains)
  • Equine infectious anaemia virus
  • Equine arteritis virus
  • Footrot (in sheep and in goats only)
  • Infectious laryngotracheitis virus
  • Listeria monocytogenes (listeriosis)
  • Mycobacterium avian (avian tuberculosis)
  • Salmonella pullorum (pullorum disease)

Exotic diseases

Bees with:

  • Acarapis woodi (acariasis tracheal mite)
  • Acute bee paralysis virus
  • Braula coeca (bee louse)
  • Tropilaelaps clareae or T. mercedesae (tropilaelaps mite)
  • Varroa destructor or V. jacobsoni (varroosis)

Aquatic species with:

  • Abalone herpesvirus (Haliotid herpesvirus-1)
  • Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease
  • Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida (furunculosis)
  • Aphanomyces astaci (crayfish plague)
  • Baculoviral midgut gland necrosis virus
  • Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
  • Boccardia knoxi
  • Bonamia ostreae
  • Decapod iridescent virus 1
  • Edwardsiella ictaluri (enteric septicaemia of catfish)
  • Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei
  • European catfish virus / European sheatfish virus
  • Gill-associated virus
  • Gyrodactylus salaris
  • Haplosporidium costale or H. nelsoni (haplosporidiosis)
  • Hepatobacter penaei (necrotising hepatopancreatitis)
  • HPR salmon anaemia virus
  • Infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus
  • Infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus
  • Infectious myonecrosis virus
  • Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus
  • Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus
  • Koi herpesvirus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 3)
  • Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (white tail disease)
  • Marteilia refringens
  • Marteilia sydneyi
  • Marteilioides chungmuensis
  • Mikrocytos mackini 
  • Mollusc iridoviroses
  • Monodon slow growth syndrome
  • Myxobolus cerebralis (whirling disease)
  • Oncorhynchus masou virus disease
  • Perkinsus marinus
  • Piscirickettsia salmonis (piscirickettsiosis)
  • Ranavirus species
  • Red sea bream iridovirus
  • Renibacterium salmoninarum (bacterial kidney disease)
  • Salmonid alphavirus
  • Scale drop disease virus
  • Singapore grouper iridovirus (ranavirus)
  • Spawner-isolated mortality virus
  • Spring viraemia of carp virus
  • Taura syndrome virus
  • Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) disease
  • Turbot reddish body iridovirus
  • Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus
  • White spot syndrome virus
  • White sturgeon iridoviral disease
  • Xenohaliotis californiensis 
  • Yellow head virus genotype 1
  • Yersinia ruckeri – Hagerman strain (enteric redmouth disease)

Other livestock species with:

  • African horse sickness virus
  • African swine fever virus
  • Alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 (malignant catarrhal fever, wildebeest-associated)
  • Aujeszky’s disease virus (pseudorabies virus)
  • Australian bat lyssavirus
  • Avian bornavirus (proventricular dilatation syndrome)
  • Avian metapneumovirus (turkey rhinotracheitis)
  • Babesia caballi, B. equi or Theileria equi (equine piroplasmosis)
  • Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)
  • Bluetongue virus
  • Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease)
  • Borna disease virus
  • Bovine virus diarrhoea virus (type 2)
  • Brucella abortus
  • Brucella canis
  • Brucella melitensis
  • Bungowannah virus (porcine myocarditis virus or atypical porcine pestivirus)
  • Burkholderia mallei (glanders)
  • Camelpox virus
  • Chlamydophila abortus (enzootic abortion of ewes / ovine chlamydiosis)
  • Classical swine fever virus
  • Chrysomya bezziana (Old World screwworm fly)
  • Cochliomyia hominivorax (New World screwworm fly)
  • Contagious agalactia
  • Cowpox virus
  • Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus
  • Devil facial tumour disease
  • Duck herpes virus 1 (duck viral enteritis / duck plague)
  • Duck virus hepatitis
  • Echinococcus multilocularis Ehrlichia ruminantium (heartwater)
  • Elaphostrongylus cervi 
  • Encephalitides (tick borne)
  • Epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus
  • Equine encephalomyelitis viruses (Eastern, Western or Venezuelan)
  • Equine encephalosis virus
  • Equine influenza virus
  • Fasciola gigantica
  • Foot and mouth disease virus
  • Francisella tularensis (tularaemia)
  • Getah virus
  • Haematobia irritans exigua (buffalo fly)
  • Hantaan river virus
  • Hendra viruses
  • Histoplasma farciminosum (epizootic lymphangitis)
  • Infectious bursal disease virus (very virulent and exotic antigenic variant forms)
  • Influenza A viruses in birds and swine
  • Jembrana disease virus
  • Leptospirosis interrogans serovar Canicola
  • Louping ill virus
  • Lumpy skin disease virus
  • Leishmania spp.
  • Maedi-visna
  • Menangle virus
  • Mycobacterium bovis
  • Mycobacterium caprae
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (contagious caprine pleuropneumonia)
  • Mycoplasma iowae
  • Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC (contagious bovine pleuropneumonia)
  • Nairobi sheep disease virus
  • Neoricketsia risticii (Potomac fever)
  • Newcastle disease virus (virulent)
  • Nipah virus
  • Pasturella multocida serotypes 6:b and 6:e (haemorrhagic septicaemia)
  • Peste des petits ruminants virus
  • Pseudogymnoascus destructans in bats (white nose syndrome)
  • Porcine cysticercosis (Cysticercus cellulosae infestation caused by Taenia solium or T. asiatica)
  • Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus
  • Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
  • Post-weaning multi-centric wasting syndrome
  • Psoroptes ovis (sheep scab)
  • Pulmonary adenomatosis (Jaagsiekte)
  • Rabies virus
  • Rhipicephalus microplusm (cattle tick)
  • Rift Valley fever virus
  • Rinderpest virus
  • Salmonella abortus-equi
  • Salmonella abortus-ovis
  • Salmonella enteritidis
  • Salmonella gallinarum (fowl typhoid)
  • Senecavirus A (Seneca Valley virus)
  • Sheep pox virus or goat pox virus
  • Shope’s fibroma virus
  • Swine vesicular disease virus
  • Taylorella equigenitalis (contagious equine metritis)
  • Taenia multiceps, T. serialis, T. brauni, and T. glomeratus (causing infestation with Coenurus cerebralis)
  • Teschovirus A (porcine enterovirus encephalomyelitis)
  • Theileria annulata (Mediterranean theilerosis)
  • Theileria parva (East Coast fever)
  • Transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus
  • Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease of deer, feline spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie)
  • Trichinella spp.
  • Trypanosomosis cruzi (Chagas disease)
  • Trypanosoma equiperdum (dourine)
  • Trypanosomosis evansi (surra)
  • Trypanosomosis (tsetse fly associated)
  • Vesicular exanthema of swine virus
  • Vesicular stomatitis virus
  • Warble-fly (warble-fly myiasis)
  • Wesselsbron virus
  • West Nile Virus

Report only diseases

Diseases, infections, and infestations with:

  • Japanese encephalitis virus
  • Paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease)
  • Streptococcus equi equi (strangles)
  • Virulent avian paramyxovirus

Save or print the South Australian notifiable diseases list (PDF 191.9 KB)

Symptoms to report

Any of the following symptoms in livestock or birds could be a notifiable, serious, or unusual disease. These must be reported:

  • a large number of sick or dead animals
  • lameness, drooling or salivating excessively
  • ulcers, erosions, or blisters around the:
    • feet
    • muzzle
    • udder
    • mouth
  • discharge, including:
    • diarrhoea, especially if there is blood in it
    • excessive nasal discharge
  • unusual nervous behaviour
  • production drop in:
    • milk yield from livestock
    • eggs from birds
  • fast spread of disease through a herd or flock
  • sudden illness with rapid deterioration or death in horses
  • birds with dullness, swollen heads, respiratory distress, or increase of thin-shelled eggs.

Watch for any unfamiliar disease symptoms in animals or birds, including less serious signs. Animals not eating properly or showing depressed behaviour may be a cause of disease.

How to report diseases

Provide the following information when notifying your vet or animal health adviser of suspected illness:

  1. which pest or disease is suspected
  2. name of the owner or farm manager
  3. property contact details:
    • street address
    • telephone number
    • Property Identification Code
  4. number of animals on the property, including wild animals
  5. the livestock species or type of animals affected
  6. a description of clinical signs of the illness
  7. the date symptoms were first noticed
  8. approximate number of sick or dead animals
  9. whether animals that could carry disease were brought to the property, or removed from it
  10. any overseas travel by people on the property.

More information

See the Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan (AUSVETPLAN) managed by Animal Health Australia.

Page last reviewed: 06 Apr 2023

 


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