IN THE SADDLE
JENNY SHEPPARD 1/10/2007
THE FLU VACCINE HAS ARRIVED
Australia’s outbreak of Equine Influenza is now into its fifth week since the
original detection in August. There are now more than 3000 infected properties
registered with the Department of Primary Industry (DPI) in NSW and
Queensland with that figure likely to double in the next week.
The latest infected properties are still occurring within the existing Red and
Purple Zones centered around the original outbreak from Sydney’s Eastern
Creek Quarantine Station. Further cases are predicted to occur around the
existing infected properties especially where there are very high horse densities.
The DPI insists that the disease containment situation remains encouraging and
there is still reason to be optimistic about the prospects for eradication, although
a sustained response effort will be required over the next six or more months to
achieve this goal. Government epidemiologists are continuing to trace the
epidemiology of the outbreak to determine source.
Vaccinating of thoroughbred racing horses and equestrian elite horses started on
the weekend after a shipment of 20,000 arrived in Australia on Thursday. NSW
and Queensland will receive the bulk of the first shipment of vaccinations to
combat equine influenza (EI). NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald
said the two states would receive 9500 vials of the vaccine each, while Victoria
would initially get 1000 vials. Mr Macdonald said the priority was to vaccinate the
working horses in NSW and Queensland, particularly race horses and high level
equestrian performers. The minister said the initial shipment of 20,000 vials
would be followed by another 30,000 with a further 100,000 vials in the coming
weeks. He said the horses competing at the Victorian spring carnival were the
ones who would be given the vaccine in that state. Mr Macdonald said the
program of vaccination would begin as soon as possible and he hoped that
would lead the way for some NSW horses to compete in Melbourne this spring.
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys said he was pleased the two EI
affected states had been given priority. "This is a floodlight at the end of a very
long tunnel," Mr V'Landys said. Vaccinating started at Rosehill racecourse on
Friday, it is the only Sydney metropolitan training centre that remains EI free after
Warwick Farm was quarantined last week, a month after Sydney's premier
training centre at Randwick was closed down due to the virus.
Horse owners should be aware that vaccination is not 100% effective. Horse
populations that are vaccinated still have epidemics because the viral strains
change and vaccines do not stop a horse from being infected or stop virus
excretion. Remembering the horses that originally brought the virus into Australia
were vaccinated.
Vaccinating only the race horses is not going to protect the racing industry from
outbreaks which stop racing. In Australia only 20% of horses are in the racing
sector. If it was voluntary for the remaining 80% of all horses to be vaccinated,
how could we be sure that they were effectively vaccinated.
The vaccine contains genetically modified canary pox virus. It does not survive
in the horse but produces enough components of the equine influenza virus to
produce an immune response against EI. The vaccine will not produce EI
disease.
Australia’s Equestrian Federation National Team Vet, Dennis Goulding of Mt
Gambia was asked this week, why given the experience of overseas countries, in
particular South Africa was Australia trying to fight Equine Influenza with isolation
and standstill alone?
Goulding replied “The epidemiologists have spent years writing the Ausvet plan
and they are determined to stick to it. However, the initial effort to contain the
virus has failed and now we are in stage two, which is ring/buffer vaccination.”
Asked if he was in favour of Vaccinating, Goulding replied “I am for vaccination,
there is not question about it. Apart from New Zealand, we are the only country
in the world not vaccinating and now we have EI. The only way to halt the
disease is through vaccination. The argument that the anti lobby put forward is
that vaccination does not stop an outbreak. That is true, as the virus can alter,
but in an immunised area the illness is mild and the outbreak easily isolated, the
country does not shut down. Vaccination is something we have to live with and
we need it to halt the disease and enable the general equine population to get on
with their lives. That does not necessarily mean mandatory vaccination forever. A
few years down the track we might decide to try and live without it based on the
fact that Australia is an isolated continent and that does help in keeping the virus
out.
Laurie Lever of Somerville has already put he and his big grey jumping machine
Drossel Dan into the front running for a spot in the 2008 Australian Olympic
Jumping team at Hong Kong, they have swept all before them in the last twelve
months and currently lead the Australian Jumping World Cup leader board. This
promising combination is flagged as the best combination in Australia at present.
Lever planed to campaign his big grey in the local circuit and qualify to represent
Australia at the World Cup Final in Sweden next April. With the EI outbreak the
remaining World Cup qualifiers in East of Australia have been cancelled.
Lever commented on his plans this week “My plan now is to take him (Drossel
Dan) overseas as soon as I can and compete on the German National Indoor
Circuit, to get some good experience indoors in the hope of maybe going to the
World Final. I will be based with (Australian Showjumping Team Advisor) Gilbert
Brockman. The problem at the moment is getting the vaccination to be able to
leave the country. Dan will be incorporated with the elite horse vaccination, but
as I will be away for so long I would like to take La Laina (a second horse) as
well, and getting vaccination for her is proving difficult. AQIS (Australia’s
Quarantine) tell me I don’t need vaccination to take the horses over to Europe,
but of course if I want to compete, they have to be vaccinated. Another problem
is at the moment the routes to Europe are closed (due to our EI outbreak) unless
I want to go via NZ and the USA, which will add another eight thousand dollars to
the trip. So I am just sitting on my hands waiting to hear from the shippers.
Even in Victoria the affects of the EI outbreak in NSW is impacting on the
livelihood of everyone associated with horses and it is disappointing that the
emphasis is purely on the racehorse, with the so called “pleasure horse” of no
consequence”. The so called pleasure horses take up more than 80% of the
horse population in Australia – the overall impact of this outbreak, which can only
have been caused by human error, is enormous. Horse events at almost all of
the Victorian Spring Agricultural Shows have been cancelled. At present we
have no EI in Victoria surely events can go ahead, the DPI is using almost scare
tactics against organising committees. Cancelling events will not stop the virus if
it does creep over the border, vaccinating will help.
AUSTRALIA TEAM TO COMPETE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Victoria’s Becky Allen of Arthurs Creek will this weekend compete in South Africa
as a member of the Australian team to contest the Tri Nations Cup against South
Africa and New Zealand. Allen will be joined by Chris Chugg of Glossodia,
Allison Rowland of Perth and Merick Ubank of Queensland to make up a
competitive team. Last year’s Tri Nations was won by New Zealand, all teams
will ride balloted horses and compete in a three day Nations Cup series in
Johannesburg.