Biosecurity vital in horse flu fight

Wise biosecurity and dedication to decontamination are vital weapons in the horse industries’ fight to eradicate equine influenza (EI) from Australia, Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, said.

At the time this monthly edition of Agriculture Today went to press, the number of infected properties in NSW was approximately 4700 and more than 40,000 horses were infected.

"To stop these figures growing, all horse owners and individuals involved in our horse industries must be 100 per cent committed to proper biosecurity," Mr Macdonald said.

"This means adopting simple measures such as hand washing and changing clothes after contact with horses or horse equipment.

"Horse owners must respect recommended decontamination procedures before leaving their own property, otherwise they risk infecting clean properties."

Along with wise biosecurity, movement restrictions and vaccination for containment form the three-pronged strategy in NSW’s campaign to get on top of EI.

Vaccinations are being used to create buffer zones, which will contain the disease for the benefit of the entire horse population.

Mr Macdonald called on the State’s horse owners to rally together to stop the spread of the explosively contagious horse flu.

"Eight weeks since the outbreak of EI, it’s now more important than ever to work together in a cohesive approach to contain and eradicate this disease from one end of NSW to the other," he said.

"The fact that horse flu has unexpectedly popped up in new locations shows that some people have been in contact with infected horses, then moved to EI free areas without following disinfection guidelines."

"It is very frustrating that ignorance or indifference about biosecurity is increasing the impact of this contagious disease on every horse owner.

"Simple measures would help bring EI under control."

Mr Macdonald said the vigilance of people around Mudgee had demonstrated that good biosecurity could limit the spread.

"We had a very different outcome at Mudgee because locals had taken biosecurity seriously," Mr Macdonald said.

"There had been no new infections in the Mudgee district for four weeks and the outbreak had been contained to four properties.

"Mid month, the size of the Mudgee buffer area was reduced from about eight kilometres around the infected area down to two kilometres, thanks to the co-operation of local horse owners.

"This allowed more effective use of precious resources.

"Instead of needing to vaccinate 2840 animals in the old buffer area, we were only looking at 300 to start with.

"If everybody was as vigilant as people at Mudgee were at that stage, it would go a long way to having this insidious disease under control."

People who don’t abide by mandatory decontamination procedures face a fine of up to $22,000 or up to six months imprisonment.

For information on vaccination buffer zones: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/equine-influenza or the EI hotline on 1800 675 888.