Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia

Lore & Background

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia came to Australia in 1858, reportedly on a shipment of a small number of cattle from England imported by a settler named Boadle. The disease soon spread from the initial herd, moving up the overland route to New South Wales, into Queensland, and across northern Australia. It later arrived in Western Australia via a shipload of cattle; only Tasmania remained free of the epidemic.

Reader's Guide

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia was particularly widespread in the United States in 1879, affecting herds from several states. The outbreak was so severe that it resulted in a trade embargo by the British government, blocking U.S. cattle exports to Britain and Canada. This prompted the United States to establish the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1884, which succeeded in eradicating the disease by 1892. In Australia, a national management strategy was implemented in 1959, inspired by the work of Northern Territory chief veterinary officer Colonel Lionel Rose. A National Committee for the Control and Eradication of Pleuropneumonia was established under D A Gill, Chief of the CSIRO Division of Animal Health and Production. The program defined infected, protected, and disease-free areas, restricted cattle movement between zones, and employed veterinary officers, stock inspectors, and police across Australia. Pleuropneumonia was announced eradicated in Australia by 1973. The bacteria remain widespread in Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe, and parts of Asia.

Did You Know?

• Louis Willems, a Belgian doctor, began pioneering work in the 1850s on animal inoculation against the disease.
• The disease is airborne and can travel up to several kilometers in the right conditions.
• In Australia, the disease arrived in 1858 on a shipment of a small number of cattle from England, reportedly imported by a settler named Boadle.
• Only Tasmania remained free of the epidemic in Australia.