Roaming information can be used to inform the management of dogs in remote communities and to design disease control programs. Widespread data collection across the Northern Territory should be undertaken to further investigate the associations found in this study, considering that data were collected during relatively short periods of time in one season.

Dog populations in NT Indigenous communities were at least 6.3-fold higher per household compared with data for the rest of Australia. Cat populations per household were similar to the overall population. Factors contributing to the relatively high dog populations in remote Indigenous communities include a lack of veterinary presence, community remoteness, poor socioeconomic factors, poor house and yard designs, cultural reasons, communal beliefs, lack of community animal management and a lack of funding. We believe that animal health programs are an important way of addressing a number of these issues. Other elements that should be addressed include improving house and yard design, increasing education regarding animal health, care and welfare, and increasing the training and presence of health and animal professionals.

Haemotropic mycoplasmas were the most common tick-borne pathogen infecting client-owned dogs. Subclinical cases were common in dogs from the NT. Veterinary practitioners should be aware of the proportion of CTBD pathogens and the presenting features of clinical and subclinical disease in their area.

No abstract