OJD

Issue

The OJD Management Plan for 2007 - 2012 requires Animal Health Australia to submit annual prevalence area estimates based on historical data and the preceding year’s abattoir surveillance data.

Several regions in Australia exceeded the agreed limits in 2008 and 2009 so Sheepmeat Council of Australia (SCA) and WoolProducers Australia (WPA) have asked Animal Health Committee (AHC) to amend the prevalence area status or boundaries for these regions, in accordance with the program business plan and to ensure area prevalence reflects the true risk associated with buying sheep from those regions.

From 1 January 2011 some boundaries of the NSW OJD prevalence areas will be moved to reflect changing rates of infection.

The Assurance Based Credit (ABC) Scheme

To control and manage OJD in Australia the Assurance Based Credit (ABC) Scheme was introduced in July 2004. The ABC Scheme operates nationally and allows producers to make purchasing decisions based on a flock’s risk of infection.

The ABC Scheme awards credits based on the following risk factors;

• area and flock of origin (Category A);
• OJD testing history (Category B);
• vaccination history (Category C); and,
• a risk assessment of the consigned sheep (Category D).

The scores for these categories are recorded on the Sheep Health Statement which producers should be requesting when purchasing sheep. The maximum score is 10 points, with 10 representing the lowest risk of infection. Producers can use this information to protect their flock by only buying low-risk sheep.

Why are the changes taking place?

To ensure this risk is accurately assessed by Category A of the Sheep Health Statement, the rate of infection in a certain prevalence area must fall within the range set by the Guidelines for the Implementation of Assurance Based OJD Management. In 2009, prevalence estimates showed that range had been exceeded by 30.2% in the Medium Prevalence Area and 0.6% in the Low Prevalence Area. Similar figures emerged in 2008.

To address this, industry and regulators agreed to review the prevalence areas, resulting in the current changes which should bring prevalence areas back into the appropriate range.

What areas are being affected?

The net effect of the changes is to put more producers in an improved Prevalence Area. The boundary changes from 1 January 2011 are summarised below. Producers who think they may be affected should contact their local LHPA office to confirm.

Areas moving from High Prevalence to Low Prevalence

• An area in the Lachlan LHPA between Forbes and West Wyalong

Areas moving from Medium Prevalence to Low Prevalence

• Most of the Cumberland LHPA
• The south-east of the Mudgee LHPA

Areas moving from Low Prevalence to Medium Prevalence

• The south-west of the Mudgee LHPA

Areas moving from Medium Prevalence to High Prevalence

• North of Temora
• An area between Urana and Lockhart
• An area near Bungendore

Detailed maps of the changes are available at the DPI website

Options for those affected

Further information is available in this fact sheet

Further information is available by contacting your local LHPA office or;

NSW Farmers’ Association  
1300 794 000

Department of Primary Industries 
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/health/specific/sheep/ojd   

Animal Health Australia
www.ojd.com.au