| Animal Health Australia | Programs and Projects | Johne's Disease | Market Assurance Programs (MAPs) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Market Assurance Programs (MAPs) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What are Market Assurance Programs?The Australian Johne's Disease Market Assurance Programs (MAPs) are a key strategy in the control of Johne's disease in Australia. MAPs are voluntary programs for producers which enable them to identify and promote their negative Johne's disease status to their clients. Herds and flocks in the MAP are not accredited as free of Johne's disease, but they have a low risk of being infected compared to Non-Assessed herds and flocks. Producers can minimise the spread of Johne's disease by sourcing replacement animals from MAP assessed herds or flocks. The following MAPs are operating in Australia:
Herds or flocks participating in the MAPs are tested to determine their disease status and managed to reduce the risk of infection. Over four years, these herds or flocks are able to progress from Monitored Negative 1 (MN1) through to Monitored Negative 3 (MN3) status - the highest level of assurance. The longer a herd or flock is in the MAP and the higher the status, the greater the confidence that it is not infected. More specifically, MAPs are designed to:
The MAPs provide breeders with a clear way of assuring clients that their herds or flocks have been assessed for Johne's disease in a way that is recognised nationally, and that they are being managed to protect them from Johne's disease Why do we need MAPs?Johne's disease has a long incubation, usually of several years. Most infected animals do not show the typical signs of the disease during their lifetimes, even though they may be shedding bacteria and infecting other animals. A Non-Assessed (NA) status in a Control Zone or Residual Zone means that the herd or flock has not been assessed for Johne's disease. The once common certification that "Johne's disease is not known or suspected to occur in this herd or flock" is of little value on its own. Current tests have limited ability to detect individual infected animals, especially when they are young or have only been recently infected. Most replacement animals are bought when they are young, so testing them at that time gives very little confidence that they are not infected. That is why the MAPs rely on repeat testing of large numbers of adult animals to determine the status of the herd or flock. In the absence of an objective assessment, like the MAP, vendors can give little assurance about the Johne's status of their animals. A vendor may have no idea that his or her herd or flock is infected and may continue to sell bulls and heifers, and rams and ewes, putting clients at risk of joining the lists of Johne's infected properties. How to join the MAP
Prior to entering an agreement with a producer to supervise the MAP program, veterinarians must be approved by the state Chief Veterinary Officer. To find out more, please contact your state MAP Coordinator. To find out more about the veterinarian's role in the MAP please view the
Audits and the MAP ProgramProducers who participate in the MAP program are required to arrange an annual review (internal audit) of their property and flock and herd. The annual review is undertaken by the supervising veterinarian and will identify ways in which the implementation of the MAP can be improved. The MAP program also requires producers to have an external review (audit) once every three years, and Animal Health Australia will contact producers when it is due. Producers should contact a quality auditor and arrange to have the external review completed. The cost of the audit is met by the producer, however, beef cattle producers can apply for a $330 (GST inclusive) and alpaca breeders can apply for a $110 (GST inclusive) rebate on the cost of the external review (audit) once every three years. The following quality auditors have attended an information sesion about the MAPs. The MAP audit may be completed at the same time as an LPA1 or LPA2 audit. You can find a list of auditors and a copy of the rebate form in the following files. MAP Manual DownloadsPlease note that the DeerMAP Manual is currently being written. MAP Gate Signs and LogoOnce you are enrolled in the MAP you can obtain free gate signs and use the MAP logo for commercial purposes (eg sales catalogues). Please view the
Further InformationTo obtain multiple copies of the MAP Information Brochure please download the
Show Health Declaration FormsShow health declaration forms are available here as PDFs or as field protected Word .doc files. Show, Sale and Exhibition venue auditShow, sale and exhibition audit forms are available here as PDFs or as field protected Word .doc files.
Page Updated: 26 June 2009 |
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CONTENTS
MAP Information Brochure (323 KB)
AHA MAP Auditors List Updated 15 June 09 (83 KB)
JDMAP gate sign order form (104 KB)
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