Brucellosis due to B. abortus is an uncommon disease in Australia due to effective eradication programs in cattle. Earlier case series have confirmed the dominance of B.suis as a human pathogen in Queensland, especially among occupational groups who hunt and slaughter feral pigs. 44 Reported rates of ornithosis are highest in the older age groups which may reflect increased investigation and laboratory testing for atypical community acquired pneumonia in this group. Previously reported outbreaks have been associated with aviaries, pet shops or poultry processing plants, although an outbreak investigation in rural Victoria in 1995 showed no association with direct bird handling but rather lawn mowing and gardening in areas with high numbers of native birds. 45 Shedding of C. psittaci into the environment by sick birds and subsequent inhalation of aerosolised dust and bird excreta was postulated as the mechanism of human infection.
Hydatid disease is under-reported in Australia.
46 Symptoms occur in the advanced stages of disease, and infection may remain quiescent for many years. Infection acquired in childhood will usually manifest in adulthood. The disease is distributed widely in rural Australia and disease occurring in urban dwellers is more common in the overseas born. Disease in the Australian born occurs typically in rural settings where humans become infected by the ingestion of eggs passed in the faeces of dogs, dingoes or foxes. Wallabies, wombats, feral pigs, sheep and kangaroos are all intermediate hosts that act as reservoirs of the disease.