More Hendra cases

A Hendra Virus Seminar will be presented at the Beaudesert RSL at 6.30pm next Tuesday, July 5^th.

There have been a further two cases of confirmed Hendra Virus in the past 24 hours, one in Northern NSW and one near Boonah.

Biosecurity Queensland is managing the second confirmed case of Hendra virus at Mt Alford in the Boonah area.

Queensland Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Rick Symons said one horse at a local property had been sick on 20 June and was euthanased.

“A second horse became sick on 1 July and samples from this horse were sent to Biosecurity Queensland for testing,” Dr Symons said.

“Test results overnight have confirmed this as a case of Hendra virus infection.

“The sick horse was euthanased. There are eight other horses on the property that we are monitoring closely.

“Tracing is underway to determine if the deceased horses came into contact with any other horses at adjoining or nearby properties.

“Biosecurity Queensland staff will attend the Mt Alford area to provide information to neighbours of the property concerned.”

This property is being quarantined to restrict the movement of horses on and off. The remaining eight horses will be monitored and tested.

Once officers from Biosecurity Queensland and Queensland Health have been able to speak with those people that treated the horse, a determination of whether anyone may have been exposed can be made.

Queensland Health stands ready to provide any assistance, counselling, information, testing or treatment that may be required.

This is the second confirmed case of Hendra infection in south east Queensland in the past week.

Biosecurity Queensland continues to monitor horses involved in the Beaudesert incident. There are no links between the horses or the properties in the two incidents.

Dr Symons said a third property had been quarantined as part as the Beaudesert incident. This is a precautionary measure after tracing of horses on the original infected property at Kerry showed a possible contact with a horse at the third property.

“We have also received the first test results on the 20 horses at the second Beaudesert property at Biddaddaba,” he said.

“They were negative. This is the first of three rounds of testing required to clear the property.”

The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) Mobile Office has been operating at William Street, Beaudesert and has received a lot of interest.

Biosecurity staff are attending the Beaudesert race day today (Saturday) and a number of local horse events across the weekend at Canungra, Beaudesert, Tamborine Village, Boonah and Logan Village.

Meantime, NSW Department of Primary Industries veterinarians today confirmed Hendra virus as the cause of death of one horse yesterday near Wollongbar on the NSW North Coast.

“The property has been placed in quarantine and the dead horse has been buried,” NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Ian Roth said.

“The horse was suffering from fever when examined by a private veterinarian on Tuesday this week.

“Following a rapid deterioration in the horse’s condition on Wednesday, the veterinarian

euthanised the horse at 1am yesterday.”

Mr Roth said samples from the dead horse were sent to DPI’s Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute for laboratory analysis and results confirmed the Hendra virus.

He said there was no current link to the recent Hendra outbreak at Beaudesert in Queensland, involving the death of one horse and the quarantining of two properties.

“There is one other horse on the Wollongbar property and it is currently in good health.

“Horse movements on and off the property are being checked by veterinary staff.”

Nine people who have had close contact with the infected horse will be closely monitored for any symptoms of the infection.

Vets, horse owners and the community should be vigilant and report any suspected cases of Hendra virus to Biosecurity Queensland and most importantly, to take appropriate precautions when handling any sick horse.

Fruit trees are flowering at the moment and there is a lot of flying fox activity. Horse owners are reminded that they should not place feed or water under trees where flying foxes gather.

Up to date information on Hendra virus is available at www.biosecurity.qld.gov.au <http://www.biosecurity.qld.gov.au/> , including a Safety Alert from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, which has important workplace health and safety information for horse properties and other horse related businesses.