Queensland authorities are testing more horses for the Hendra virus in a bid to contain the latest outbreak.
So far tests on five horses which shared a southeast Queensland property with a Hendra-infected animal have come back negative but this is just one of three tests to come because the virus has a varied incubation period.
The tests on the horses at Kerry, near Beaudesert, were the first of three rounds the animals would be subjected to, Biosecurity Queensland chief vet Dr Rick Symons said on Friday.
Results from 20 horses on a nearby Biddaddaba property, where the infected horse died on the weekend, are expected in coming days.
Biosecurity Queensland staff are observing all horses on both properties, which remain under quarantine until all three rounds of tests are completed. This usually takes about 32 days.
Dr Symons said authorities had set up an office in William Street, Beaudesert, to distribute information about Hendra.
“There are a number of horse owners in the area and more than 50 people visited the mobile office on Thursday,” he said.
“The main queries were around the transport of horses and specifics about the virus itself.
“Apart from animals on the two affected properties, horses can be freely moved within and outside of the Beaudesert area.”
Meanwhile, a veterinarian exposed to Hendra virus says it’s going to be difficult for vets to treat sick horses with any confidence without a vaccination against the disease.
Dr Ewan Maskrey has a six-week wait to learn whether he has contracted the potentially deadly virus from the horse when it was on the Kerry property.
In total, eight people including Dr Maskrey were exposed to the horse.
Of the seven people who have previously contracted Hendra virus, four have died.
Dr Maskrey, who is considered most at risk, says he is anxious, but trying to get on with life.
A Hendra vaccine, due for commercial release in 2013, should be compulsory, he says.
“Anyone who works with horses won’t really feel any safety until we have a vaccine and we are using it,” he told reporters.
“Our view would be that it become compulsory to vaccinate all horses just so that it doesn’t happen again.”
The exposure of the eight people is considered low to moderate.
AAP TURF
