Research that works for developing countries and Australia

 

Animal Health

Research Program Manager: Dr Doug Gray
email: gray@aciar.gov.au

ACIAR's investments in animal health and production will largely focus on issues that enable smallholder farmers to refine their livestock management toward production and income-generation, in contrast to 'keeping' livestock solely as an asset. These issues include aspects of the market such as prices; seasonal trends; product quality and market access (including biosecurity) to reduce the risks involved in moving from a household-based to a market economy. Development of health programs for country-species-disease combinations and other livestock husbandry technologies will be considered where clear institutional pathways for adoption of the results of research by smallholders exist and where Australia has experience and expertise.

Animal Health has a focus on the following themes, with the emphasis on diseases of regional significance:

Transboundary diseases
Zoonotic diseases
Diseases affecting production
Diseases affecting trade and market access

The impacts derived will be reduced disease-control costs, improved animal productivity, improved product quality and improved market access. Increasingly the emphasis will shift from production-related diseases to those of national and regional importance (usually rapidly spreading viral disease) and those affecting trade and human health.

Within each theme, ACIAR will address gaps in the successful management of a disease and may include defining the disease issue or problem, understanding the biology of the disease (epidemiology, modelling), improving the ability to detect diseases (pathology, refinement of old tests, development of new tests or platforms), application of diagnostic tests to disease surveillance systems and refinement of these systems and development and application of control measures.

For more information see IAS38 Future directions for ACIAR's animal health research.

Concluded Projects

AH/1997/115 - Increasing efficiency and productivity of ruminants in India and Australia by the use of protected nutrient technology

AH/2000/009 - Development of diagnostic and control methodologies for animal trypanosomiasis (Surra) in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia

AH/2000/083 - Development of a vaccine for the control of Gumboro in village and small poultry holdings in Indonesia

AH/2001/005 - Salinity reduction in tannery effluents in India and Australia

AH/2001/054 - The identification of constraints and possible remedies to livestock production by zoonotic diseases in the South Pacific

AH/2002/042 - Control of Newcastle disease and identification of major constraints in village chicken production systems in Myanmar

AH/2002/099 - Development of a model for the control of fasciolosis in cattle and buffaloes in the Kingdom of Cambodia

AH/2005/107 - Food safety research in Indonesia scoping study

AH/2006/077 - Identifying research priorities for the development of the beef industry in Cambodia and Lao PDR with special reference to animal health interventions

AH/2006/078 - Assessing and controlling the risks of disease spread in Mekong countries with an initial focus on Cambodia

AH/2006/155 - Vaccine business development in Lao PDR

AH/2006/163 - Assessment of zoonotic diseases in Indonesia

AH/2006/164 - Future directions for animal health services in Indonesia

AH/2007/060 - Scoping opportunities for improving bio-security in commercial poultry in Indonesia

AS1/1982/003 - Increased efficiency of straw utilisation by cattle and buffalo

AS1/1983/003 - Ticks and tick borne diseases

AS1/1983/016 - A study of the life-cycle of the important buffalo parasite Toxocara Vitulorum to provide a basis for control procedures

AS1/1983/021 - Control of tick-borne diseases or ruminants in Sri Lanka with particular reference to babesiosis and anaplasmosis

AS1/1983/034 - Vaccination of Malaysian village poultry with an avirulent Australian Newcastle disease virus

AS1/1983/064 - Genetic identification of strains and genotypes of buffaloes and goats in south east Asia

AS1/1983/067 - Research and development of foot-and-mouth disease diagnostic methods in Thailand

AS1/1983/082 - Establishment of improved methods for the diagnosis and control of livestock diseases in south-east Asia using enzyme linked immunoabsorbent Assay (Elisa)

AS1/1984/018 - Epidemiology and control of gastro-intestinal nematodes in small ruminants in the Pacific Islands

AS1/1984/054 - Mineral nutrition studies of small ruminants in north-western and north-eastern China

AS1/1984/055 - Epidemiology of ephemeral fever in China

AS1/1984/056 - Sheep breeding for improved wool quality in north west China

AS1/1984/064 - Brucillosis of sheep in China

AS1/1985/023 - Self-medication of ruminants in tethered husbandry systems

AS1/1985/046 - Draught animal power

AS1/1985/055 - Effects of helminths and nutrition on sheep production in northern China

AS1/1987/017 - Control of Newcastle disease in village chickens with oral V4 vaccine

AS1/1988/035 - Diagnosis and control of foot and mouth disease in Thailand

AS1/1989/011 - Identification of mineral elements limiting sheep production in Northern China

AS1/1990/001 - Improved management for production of honey and pollination of tropical forests by bees

AS1/1990/049 - Evaluation of antigens for vaccination against liver fluke in cattle and buffalo in Indonesia

AS1/1991/019 - Towards effective control of infectious bursal disease and infectious bronchitis in poultry

AS1/1991/023 - Control of fasciolosis in cattle and buffalo in Indonesia

AS1/1992/003 - Identification and production of recombinant antigens for a vaccination against the screw-worm fly (Chrysomya bezziana)

AS1/1992/004 - Improved methods in diagnosis, epidemiology, economic and information management in Australia and Thailand

AS1/1992/005 - Improved diagnosis and control of infectious coryza in China and Australia

AS1/1993/011 - Genetic improvement of Thai beef cattle and buffalo

AS1/1993/012 - Feeding and management strategies for improved reproductive efficiency in cattle

AS1/1993/018 - Improved ruminant production through the efficient use of tannin containing shrub legumes

AS1/1993/043 - Jembrana disease in Bali cattle

AS1/1994/020 - Management of rodent pests in Southeast Asia

AS1/1994/022 - Prolific worm-resistant meat sheep for Maharashtra, India

AS1/1994/038 - Improved diagnostic and control methodologies for livestock diseases in Lao PDR and Yunnan Province, PRC

AS1/1994/051 - Development and standardisation of rapid diagnostic tests and vaccines for the control of sheep and goat pox diseases in India and Australia

AS1/1994/113 - Antigenic competition and vaccine failure in small ruminant vaccines in India: A preliminary investigation

AS1/1995/040 - Production of a seed culture of heat resistant Newcastle disease virus suitable for producing in developing countries

AS1/1995/111 - Isolation and characterisation of micro-organisms from non-domesticated browsing ruminants in Africa capable of improving the utilisation of tannin containing shrub legumes

AS1/1996/079 - Management of rodent pests in Vietnam

AS1/1996/083 - Development of field survey and information management techniques for animal health priority setting in Lao People's Democratic Republic

AS1/1996/096 - Investigations into the control of Newcastle disease in village chickens in Mozambique

AS1/1996/150 - Diagnosis and likely spread of Trypanosoma evansi in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia

AS1/1996/160 - Control of fasciolosis in cattle and buffaloes in Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia

AS1/1997/027 - Genetic and immunological characterisation of high resistance to internal parasites in Indonesian Thin Tail Sheep

AS1/1997/069 - The treatment of wool scouring effluents in Australia, China and India

AS1/1997/070 - Development of specification and processing prediction techniques for the Chinese and Indian wool industries

AS1/1997/133 - Sustainable endoparasite control for small ruminants in Southeast Asia

AS1/1998/010 - Managing the rumen ecosystem to improve utilisation of thornless acacias

AS1/1998/036 - Management of rodent pests in rice based farming systems

AS1/1998/049 - Lameness in sheep and other ruminants in Bhutan

AS1/1999/026 - Population models and immunocontraceptive vaccines for managing outbreaking rodent species

AS1/2000/029 - Production of a vaccine for the control of Jembrana disease in Indonesia

AS1/2001/025 - Global Animal Health and Production Compendium