New vaccine technology for long-term flystrike prevention (2026-2027)

Flystrike is one of the largest health, welfare and production problems facing the Australian sheep wool and meat industry, costing more than $320 million annually. Current control measures including repeated insecticide treatments are becoming ineffective due to acquired resistance of the parasite and mulesing being phased out due to animal welfare issues. Striking back at flystrike with an effective, welfare-friendly alternative technology such as a vaccine will transform the Australian sheep meat and wool. This project aims to develop a new vaccine to protect sheep from flystrike in a safer, more sustainable way. Researchers from the University of Queensland, CSIRO and Seppic are collaborating to identify small blowfly antigens that trigger immune responses. These small antigens are being formulated into vaccines, which have already shown promise in mice and are now being trailed in sheep under real farming conditions. If successful, the vaccine will offer long-lasting protection, r