Mosquito and sandfly numbers are set to soar as flooding subsides in outback Queensland.
The swarming insects pose serious health risks to humans and threaten the lives of cattle.
What’s next?
Veterinarians say bovine ephemeral fever could put future herd fertility at risk.
Cattle that survived record-breaking outback floods are about to fight another battle as swarms of mosquitoes and sandflies carrying a potentially deadly disease grow in the outback.
The life-threatening viral, mosquito and sandfly-borne bovine ephemeral fever (BEF), commonly known as three-day sickness, has graziers on edge.
There will be big stock losses across the west. (Supplied: Shane Wendleborne)
Longreach veterinarian Jordan Stayt said while not all mosquitoes carried the disease, the risk of BEF infiltrating herds was significantly higher after a flood event.
He said the disease caused lameness, stiffness, depression, runny nose, drooling, high fevers, and in serious cases, death in cattle.
The long-term effects could impact the reproductive health of livestock, causing permanent infertility in bulls and increasing the likelihood of pregnant cows aborting their fetuses.
Cattle across western Queensland are at risk of a deadly disease as floodwaters recede. (ABC News: Jessica Black)
On the lookout
Grazier Julie Groves at Haughton Vale near Jundah, who is in the midst of preparing for the insect influx, said it was not her first rodeo battling the bloodsucking pests.
“We’ll have sandflies all day, mozzies all night. They’ll be up your nose, in your ears, just everywhere,”
she said.
“There’s nothing really you can do … it’s par for the course.”
Her plan was to keep her cattle in one place while she waited for the impending sandfly and mosquito swarms.
Drooling is a symptom bovine ephemeral fever, known as the three-day sickness. (Supplied: Ulladulla Veterinary Hospital)
“The less they’re disturbed the better … if you try and move them, well, they will die,” she said.
She said some cattle would contract three-day sickness but many of her bulls were vaccinated.
“It’s a bit like people getting the flu in a way, because not everybody gets the flu as bad as the next person,” she said.
About 300 kilometres south of Ms Groves, grazier at Pinkenetta Station near Quilpie, Alex Edwards, said the mosquitoes were likely hatching and batches of them would live amongst the livestock.
Pinketta Station was inundated by record-breaking flooding. (Supplied: Alex Edwards)
“The sandflies are going to be a big [issue], and the mosquitoes,” Mr Edwards said.
“The poor old animals that are caught for a little bit longer … they’ll suffer.”
He said the last significant outbreaks of BEF occurred during the 2016 and 2019 floods, where sandflies were rampant, and many newcomers to the region may not be prepared for what was to come.
“The tragic part about this is it doesn’t matter what you injected them with, you weren’t going to save them,” he said.
“What diseases come along now, I just hope and pray they don’t affect the ones that are still alive.”
Floodwater reaches to the top of trees on a property in western Queensland. (Supplied: Kylie Smith)
In for the long haul
Dr Stayt said if BEF hit large numbers in cattle herds, reducing production, there might be serious flow-on effects for graziers.
“The animals are probably going to be struggling, it might take them a little longer to get over it and knock them around a bit more,” he said.
Jordan Stayt says three-day sickness could threaten the lives of cattle in the wake of flooding in western Queensland. (Supplied: Jordan Stayt)
“Their bodies are going to be taking a pretty large physiological load right now … once they do get saved from the flooding itself.”
He said the largest long-term impacts would be if infertility of loss of fetuses became an issue, putting the future of the already decreased herd at risk.
The management of clinical cases includes the symptomatic treatment of infected cattle, including anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and vaccinations in the face of an outbreak.
“There’s no cure as such, but nursing care is definitely beneficial,” he said.
You can now read the most important #news on #eDairyNews #Whatsapp channels!!!
🇺🇸 eDairy News INGLÊS: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaKsjzGDTkJyIN6hcP1K
