EASTERN states livestock producers are urged to be on the lookout for disease outbreaks caused by the wet weather and flooding of summer.
Cattle veterinarians are warning producers animal diseases and parasites, including liver fluke, leptospirosis and theileria, thrive in moist conditions after a very wet summer.
Beef industry consultant and vet Dr Rod Manning, Mansfield, said leptospirosis was common in cattle, with varying degrees of clinical significance.
"When you have wet conditions, the organism can survive for a reasonable amount of time, which is conducive to it spreading," he said.
"It is also one of the few diseases that is a true zoonosis and can be spread to and from humans and cattle, with anyone who works around cattle having increased incidences of the disease.
"You can't vaccinate people for it, but cattle who have been vaccinated properly stop the spread of the disease and in turn, lower the disease incidences in humans as well."