Mr WARREN - 2006-10-19
The local media has recently reported on an outbreak of infectious disease at some of our crocodile farms. Will you outline what our government has done to assist our crocodile farming industry to deal with this issue?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for his question. It is true, and many of us remember the explicit headlines in the paper such as ‘Sex Disease is Killing Scores of Baby Crocs’. Who could forget this one: ‘Our Crocs have Pox’? They certainly grab the reader’s attention when reporting various theories about the underlying reasons for the crocodiles dying.
In June this year, my department was notified of some unusual numbers of deaths in hatchling saltwater crocodiles in two of the farms in the Darwin region. Later that month, Chlamydia was diagnosed by my department’s Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory and the Oonoonba Veterinary Laboratory in Queensland.
Chlamydia is a disease that affects farm crocs. It was originally diagnosed in South Africa and Papua New Guinea and has been present in Australia since 2004. The clinical symptoms include severe conjunctivitis and severe throat infections. The disease was also identified in Pied Herons at Crocodylus Park. The strain in crocodiles is different from that found in the herons and it is highly unlikely that one species could pass on the disease to the other.
An expert in South Africa was called out by one of the farms to work with the department’s Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory, and suggested that the outbreak was caused by pox virus, which appeared in South Africa a little while back, hence the wonderful front page headline.
However, there was no evidence of mouth or skin lesions caused by the pox virus and this has, in fact, since been accepted by the foreign expert. We can say with 100% accuracy that the disease is an unidentified strand of Chlamydia and it is specific to crocodiles. The reason the mortality rate was so high is likely to be a combination of factors, but the more likely one is stress linked with the colder than normal weather, making the hatchlings more susceptible to infection. The coldest average minium temperature for 64 years was recorded in the Darwin area during the outbreak. My department continues to work with the crocodile farming industry and is managing the disease.
Might I add that I am absolutely bedazzled by the amount of work my department does. Their groundbreaking and innovative research is second to none. We are very pleased to have these people in the Northern Territory doing the work that they do.
The response to this outbreak again highlights that we have international standard research, diagnostic and management expertise available locally. My department’s diagnosis was available quickly and has proved to be 100% correct. The department also worked with an overseas expert, giving him use of laboratory facilities and assisting him in the field, which all demonstrates that we are very fortunate to have such professional and dedicated people working here. I thank them for their considerable effort and their diligence and hard work.
Finally, the excellent scientific collaboration between the field and diagnostic services of my department bodes well for the development of a formal Northern Territory Biosecurity Strategy over the coming years.
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for his question. It is true, and many of us remember the explicit headlines in the paper such as ‘Sex Disease is Killing Scores of Baby Crocs’. Who could forget this one: ‘Our Crocs have Pox’? They certainly grab the reader’s attention when reporting various theories about the underlying reasons for the crocodiles dying.
In June this year, my department was notified of some unusual numbers of deaths in hatchling saltwater crocodiles in two of the farms in the Darwin region. Later that month, Chlamydia was diagnosed by my department’s Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory and the Oonoonba Veterinary Laboratory in Queensland.
Chlamydia is a disease that affects farm crocs. It was originally diagnosed in South Africa and Papua New Guinea and has been present in Australia since 2004. The clinical symptoms include severe conjunctivitis and severe throat infections. The disease was also identified in Pied Herons at Crocodylus Park. The strain in crocodiles is different from that found in the herons and it is highly unlikely that one species could pass on the disease to the other.
An expert in South Africa was called out by one of the farms to work with the department’s Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory, and suggested that the outbreak was caused by pox virus, which appeared in South Africa a little while back, hence the wonderful front page headline.
However, there was no evidence of mouth or skin lesions caused by the pox virus and this has, in fact, since been accepted by the foreign expert. We can say with 100% accuracy that the disease is an unidentified strand of Chlamydia and it is specific to crocodiles. The reason the mortality rate was so high is likely to be a combination of factors, but the more likely one is stress linked with the colder than normal weather, making the hatchlings more susceptible to infection. The coldest average minium temperature for 64 years was recorded in the Darwin area during the outbreak. My department continues to work with the crocodile farming industry and is managing the disease.
Might I add that I am absolutely bedazzled by the amount of work my department does. Their groundbreaking and innovative research is second to none. We are very pleased to have these people in the Northern Territory doing the work that they do.
The response to this outbreak again highlights that we have international standard research, diagnostic and management expertise available locally. My department’s diagnosis was available quickly and has proved to be 100% correct. The department also worked with an overseas expert, giving him use of laboratory facilities and assisting him in the field, which all demonstrates that we are very fortunate to have such professional and dedicated people working here. I thank them for their considerable effort and their diligence and hard work.
Finally, the excellent scientific collaboration between the field and diagnostic services of my department bodes well for the development of a formal Northern Territory Biosecurity Strategy over the coming years.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016