Sheep graziers form taskforce to bring pilot footrot vaccine to market

Sheep graziers have formed a taskforce seeking $1.5 million in federal funding to bring a pilot footrot vaccine to market for producers.

Sheep graziers and industry representatives have headed up a new taskforce to bring a pilot footrot vaccine back to producers, and are calling for federal funding.

A Custom Footrot R-Pilus Vaccine Taskforce has formed nationally with hopes to secure $1.5million in federal funding to make the pilot vaccine readily available for producers.

The currently-available Coopers Ovilis Footvax, an alternative vaccine, was taken off the market in 2015 before the University of Sydney developed the R-Pilus vaccine that was available through permits for producers until 2020, when the Coopers product returned to the market.

Footrot case. File picture

Maldon sheep grazier Rebecca Hamilton’s family had a footrot outbreak in their flock in 2016, and is a member of the Custom Footrot taskforce.

She said management has cost well in excess of $100,000 in a calendar year.

“It is difficult to put a figure on it because there are so many hidden costs,” she said. “Displacement of breeding ewes to terminals is one such expense.”

They were able to eradicate footrot across three properties within 12 months in 2017 with the R-Pilus vaccine and footbaths. Across their farms they join more than 18,000 breeding ewes, 15,000 Merinos and 3500 first-cross ewes between Bendigo and Skipton.

“People don’t talk about footrot because it’s been stigmatised.”

“The biggest problem in this story is our agricultural advocacy. The fact Australian farmers are not good at advocating as an industry to get problems resolved with their government, and as a consequence we have had more and more resources pulled from it because we don’t speak up when there’s an issue to be spoken about.”

Coopers Animal Health technical adviser Jim Walsh, who is not on the taskforce, said the R-Pilus vaccine was “very effective” at curing and minimising spread because it targeted only a few strains, and more effective than Coopers Ovilis Footvax.

However, the Coopers Footvax is a multivalent vaccine and covers 10 of 11 strains found in Australia. There was also no swabbing or testing needed to use the Coopers vaccine.

The R-Pilus vaccine is bivalent, addressing fewer strains but giving longer-lasting protection of six months compared to Coopers’ three to four months.

Mr Walsh is a veterinarian and was a farmer for 15 years, when he was able to eradicate footrot from his family farm.

“The cost of footrot is significant in terms of production and welfare,” he said. “Every effort should be made to control footrot.

“We need every tool available for footrot, because it is a significant disease.”

He said bringing the vaccine to market would face challenges with cost, process and viable market size.

The Weekly Times asked the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry whether it was working towards the vaccine being readily available, and footrot impacts on the agricultural industry.

“The department is aware of work between Animal Health Australia and Wool Producers Australia to progress registration and subsequent manufacture of the Custom Footrot R-Pilus vaccine in Australia,” the department said.

Taskforce chair Peter Treloar said the taskforce wanted to achieve broad availability of the pilot vaccine and dubbed it an “animal welfare issue”. He said all states were represented in the taskforce with producers, veterinarians and scientists.

“All the states have their own jurisdiction but it’s a cross-border issue,” he said.

“There’s this frustration that sheep producers across the country are feeling, at the slow rate of progress. Footrot in much of southern Australia has become endemic.”