If your livestock are showing signs of foot-and-mouth disease, immediately call the
Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888
(free call within Australia)
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a serious threat to Australia’s animal health and trade. Livestock workers, producers, and large animal vets need to know the signs of FMD and report suspected infection.
FMD is a highly contagious animal disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, deer and pigs. It does not affect horses and zebras.
More about FMD and signs of the disease.
FMD is a notifiable animal disease
Notifiable animal diseases are animal diseases that when suspected by owners, vets or laboratories must be reported within a defined timeframe.
Signs of FMD must be reported immediately to the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) in your state or territory's department of primary industries or agriculture by phoning the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
AUSVETPLAN response strategy
The FMD AUSVETPLAN response strategy forms part of our national response arrangements. The plan sets out the nationally agreed approach that would be taken to respond to FMD if there was an incursion in Australia. The plan includes an assessment of the role of vaccination in responding to an incursion.
Emergency Animal Disease field guide
The Emergency animal diseases - A field guide for Australian veterinarians provides information on important emergency animal diseases (EADs) that do not exist in Australia or that are rare. It helps vets include appropriate EADs in their differential diagnoses and take appropriate action if presented with signs of an unusual disease.
- Chapter 3.10 of the EAD field guide – foot-and-mouth disease
- Download the full the Emergency animal diseases - A field guide for Australian veterinarians
NABSnet for private vets
Northern Australia Biosecurity Surveillance Network (NABSnet) utilises the coverage, expertise and good will of private vets working in northern Australia to improve general surveillance for animal pests and diseases.
In return NABSnet provides vets working in northern Australia with access to practical training and resources. This includes improving their capability to do quality significant disease investigations (SDIs); a subsidy for conducting SDIs; and networking opportunities to develop relationships between private vets across northern Australia and people in the government biosecurity sector (particularly vets and laboratory staff).