Wildlife Health Surveillance Victoria

Abstract

Wildlife Health Surveillance Victoria is a state-wide passive surveillance program based at the Faculty of Veterinary Science of The University of Melbourne. It has a bottom-up structure with the public and staff of the Victorian Departments of Environment and Primary Industry and Parks Victoria (state organisation responsible for national parks in Victoria) reporting mortality and morbidity events in free ranging endemic mammals, birds, reptile and amphibians for investigation. Pathologists, microbiologists, parasitologists, virologists and epidemiologists within the Faculty and collaborators from other institutions contribute to diagnoses. Wildlife Heath Australia (a national body which collects and co-ordinates data on wildlife disease) provides a data base for reporting to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). Factors that guided the development of Wildlife Heath Surveillance Victoria are discussed.