Three specialised veterinary hospitals have joined a national program to help track the health of Australia’s wildlife.
The program, coordinated by Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) links veterinary hospitals that either have a high wildlife caseload or an important location, to share data and discoveries that support the health of Australia’s native species.
Known as ‘Sentinel Clinics’, these facilities track emerging diseases that have the potential to affect human or environmental health, or animals in agriculture.
WHA’s CEO Dr Rupert Woods said the addition of Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital in NSW, WA Wildlife Hospital in Perth and Bonorong Wildlife Hospital in Tasmania brings significant veterinary medicine capability to key regions in Australia and will significantly boost the national Sentinel Clinic surveillance program.
All three hospitals provide high quality veterinary services for wildlife in important bio-diverse regions of Australia that treat a wide range of species.
They join the network of seven other Sentinel Clinics across Australia performing vital wildlife disease surveillance and treatment services.
Dr Rupert Woods said: “Wildlife are the most common source of emerging diseases so we are also on the lookout for anything new, including diseases found overseas that could come into Australia. We help Australian governments keep an eye on potential disease threats that could impact our biodiversity, as well as threats to farmed animals such as avian influenza, or those with human health implications such as Australian bat lyssavirus.”
Dr Woods explained the data collected through the program will be used to better understand disease threats to livestock, human health and biodiversity.
“The addition of these sentinel clinics adds to the big picture of wildlife health. The wildlife hospitals will help to enhance existing surveillance programs across Australia. The information these private hospitals feed through to us will complement what is already being collected through the seven other sentinel clinics, as well as zoo wildlife hospitals, universities and wildlife carers,” Dr Woods said.
Ten clinics are now participating in the program: Adelaide Koala & Wildlife Centre, Bonorong Wildlife Hospital in Tasmania, Boongarry Veterinary Services in Cairns, Broome Veterinary Hospital, Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, Kimberley Vet Centre in Kununurra, Kingston Animal Hospital in Hobart, Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne, RSPCA QLD Wildlife Hospital in Brisbane and WA Wildlife Hospital in Perth.
For more information, please contact admin@wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au.