Hendra virus has turned up further south of the Queensland border, killing a second horse in NSW in as many weeks.
In the third ever case in NSW, a horse died on a property near Macksville on the mid-north coast on Sunday.
The cause of death was confirmed on Thursday as Hendra.
It follows the death of another horse a week ago at a Wollongbar property, on the state’s north coast about 200km away from Macksville.
NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Ian Roth said there were three other horses on the property but they were not showing any signs of illness.
“Horse movements on and off the property are being checked by veterinary staff,” he said.
Nationwide, seven horses with Hendra have died or been put down since June 20 – five in southeast Queensland and two in northern NSW.
Six people who had close contact with the infected horse near Macksville will be monitored for symptoms of the infection.
There are now 17 people in Queensland and 15 in NSW in that position, and they must wait for three rounds of tests over several weeks before they can be cleared.
Of the seven people who have contracted the Hendra virus since 1994, four have died.
Mr Roth said there were no links between the Macksville case and the Wollongbar property, or the recent Hendra outbreaks in Queensland.
But this cluster of outbreaks is the most authorities have seen at one time.
It has prompted the horse industry to warn owners and vets to treat every sick horse as though it has Hendra.
Queensland Horse Council president Debbie Dekker said news of another case was worrying.
“It is scary. There has never been this many (Hendra outbreaks) at one time but then again last year there was only one case and that was unusual too,” Ms Dekker said.
“We are testing for it more now so previously some of these cases may have gone undiagnosed.”
Ms Dekker said horse owners and vets should treat every sick horse as a potential Hendra case.
She said Hendra had many and varied symptoms that could resemble those caused by colic or the flu.
“Until the horse vaccine is in production we have to be extremely careful and approach all sick horses with the greatest care,” she said.
“This means wearing glasses, wearing a mask and gloves.”
Flying foxes carry the Hendra virus and can pass it to horses via their bodily fluids.
The horse on the Macksville property had been in a paddock containing a fig tree, which is a habitat for bats.
The first ever Hendra death in NSW was in 2006 near Murwillumbah in the far north of the state.
AAP TURF
