Indonesia suspends live exports from 'particular establishment'

The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that Indonesia has temporarily suspended live cattle from a Northern Territory exporter, following suspected botulism deaths on board the Brahman Express. 

"Export of live cattle from a particular registered establishment in the Northern Territory has been temporarily suspended, pending further investigations to determine the cause of the incident," the DAFF advised.

The confirmation follows a leaked email from a senior DAFF official yesterday warning exporters to be "ready as best you can, as soon as you can".

On March 24, the exporter self-reported "a significant mortality event" — understood to be more than 100 cattle deaths — during the voyage to Indonesia on board the Brahman Express. 

The Australian Livestock Exporters Council said initial assumptions were the affected animals came from a single property and were were assessed to be in good health and fit to load by veterinarians prior to departure.

The department is continuing to investigate the cause of the deaths which are consistent with clinical signs botulism. It has ruled out Bovine Ephemeral Fever and tick fever as possible causes of mortality. Other tests are still underway as part of the investigation and the department said that, due to the low amounts of toxin present in the bloodstream of affected cattle, it would take time to confirm botulism as the cause of the deaths.

DAFF has advised that there is no evidence of an exotic disease, and that the country's animal health status remains unchanged. 

This was confirmed over the long weekend, with DAFF reporting: "Precautionary testing undertaken by the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness has returned negative results for Lumpy Skin Disease and Foot and Mouth Disease, confirming that there is no evidence of an exotic disease. Australia’s Animal Health Status remains unchanged."

The department said that it "is committed to working closely with our international trading partners to provide assurance that all animals exported from Australia comply with their animal health requirements."

Botulism in cattle is most often caused by the cattle eating a toxin produced by bacteria in contaminated feed and is not a contagious or exotic disease and is not a risk to the Australian herd or to human health, the department said.

Indonesia is Australia’s most important trading partner for live cattle worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and this latest suspension follows a halting of trade from four facilities last year when Lumpy Skin was detected. 

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) said the deaths demonstrated the need for veterinarians to be on board all live export ships, no matter how short the voyage.

“This is not acceptable. Veterinarians must be onboard all live export voyages, irrespective of length, to protect the health and welfare of animals on the ship”, said AVA President Dr Diana Barker.

“The accompaniment of an Australian Accredited Veterinarian is not just important for the health and welfare of the animals on board, but also for the disease investigation to confirm the cause of death in an unusual mortality event such as this.

“It was less than two months ago that the importance of the veterinary presence was called out by numerous groups during the MV Bahijah incident demonstrating how critical it is to have veterinarians involved in all facets of live animal export."

Botulism 

According to the Northern Territory Government Botulism has a rapid onset and is usually a fatal disease of livestock in the northern regions of Australia, particularly in areas where pastures experience periods of protein and phosphorus deficiency.  

An outbreak of botulism is most likely to occur in cattle, when unvaccinated stock are kept on a protein and phosphorus-deficient diet, and where carcass chewing is common. 

It is caused by the botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. 

Diagnosis of botulism is based on clinical signs and exclusion of other causes.  

In some cases, where the animal is still alive, the tongue will remain extended when pulled out from the mouth.  

If a post-mortem is conducted, evidence of carcass consumption may be found in the forestomaches (rumen or reticulum), in the form of hide, bones or maggots.  

Once an animal has absorbed the toxin, there is no curative medical treatment available to improve recovery. Most cases develop quickly and death nearly always follows.  

Mildly affected animals may recover with good nursing and veterinary care.  

If nursing is attempted, the animal must not be drenched through the mouth, because it cannot swallow.  

Most affected cattle die from respiratory failure. However, complications can develop in cattle that cannot stand, and sometimes the best option is euthanasia on animal welfare grounds.