Canine ehrlichiosis is a serious, tick-transmitted disease of dogs. Until 2020 Australia was free of this disease due to stringent pre-import screening of dogs coming into Australia. Since its initial identification in northern WA, locally acquired cases have been diagnosed throughout the NT, northern WA and northern SA, with cases also identified in dogs travelling from these regions to NSW, Qld and Victoria. This presentation will provide some background to the disease and its vector tick, an update on the number of cases reported, the signs displayed by infected dogs, and the strategies needed to manage canine ehrlichiosis.
Presenters
Professor Peter Irwin, BVetMed, PhD, FANZCVS, MRCVS
Peter graduated in veterinary science from the Royal Veterinary College, London University in 1982 and has a PhD from James Cook University (1991) for studies into canine babesiosis in Australia. He is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (Canine Medicine). Peter has worked in academia in Australia and overseas for more than 25 years as a teacher of companion animal medicine and as a researcher in the fields of veterinary parasitology and medical microbiology. He is an internationally recognised expert in vector-borne diseases and is a director of the Vector- and Water Borne Pathogens Research Group(the Cryptick Laboratory) at Murdoch University. His research concerns tick-borne infections of companion animals, wildlife and humans in Australia. Peter is currently appointed Emeritus Professor at Murdoch University.
Dr Bonny Cumming – BVSc, MVS
Bonny is a veterinarian and Program Manager -Strategic Delivery for Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities – a national not-for-profit organisation that coordinates veterinary and education programs in rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Bonny’s role with AMRRIC is diverse and includes establishing and managing strategic partnerships and projects, monitoring and evaluation, managing the development of the AMRRIC App, and policy and protocol development.
For the last 13 months, Ehrlichiosis has been a huge part of Bonny’s role. On behalf of AMRRIC and the remote Indigenous communities that they service, Bonny has been raising awareness of the impacts of Ehrlichiosis to all levels of government, as well as relevant community-based stakeholders. Bonny has been leading the AMRRIC team to develop a range of education resources about this new disease, and is actively involved with ongoing government responses to this disease.
Responses