Horse Driving Trials Club Inc.

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Equine influenza


couple with their horse

All the signs are that the state is EI-free, thanks to horse owners, industry and the public whose ongoing assistance has allowed NSW to achieve a monumental victory over this disease.

Now horse owners have just 2 things to remember:


Always travel with a Travelling Horse Statement
The only times when a THS is not required is if you are walking or riding a horse (and you aren't walking or riding to an event).
Keep watching for signs of EI
You need to stay vigilant! If you see any symptoms of EI in a horse - cough, runny nose, off-colour, off feed, a temperature over 38.5 degrees Celsius - then ring the EI Hotline on 1800 675 888 (8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday).

 

 

 

 

THS Form
A THS is still required for movement in NSW.
Event Form
Any gathering of 10 or more horses is an 'event' and must be registered. 

Stay informed

Latest changes to the website 

  • New factsheet published
    12 Mar 2008, 10:45: Title: 'Stop the spread of horse diseases'. During the recovery phase from EI and beyond, biosecurity measures remain important for the ongoing prevention of all infectious disease in horses.
  • Letter of thanks to NSW horse owners
    07 Mar 2008, 16:03: A message of thanks to NSW horse owners from Minister Ian Macdonald.
  • Maintenance completed - online forms available again
    06 Mar 2008, 10:55: The maintenance carried out during the recent online form outage has now been completed. The Travelling Horse Statement and Event Registration Forms are now available again.

Message from Barry Smyth

 

Important Message from AHIC President Barry Smyth

The national horse industry continues its strong support for the combined efforts of governments and industry participants to contain and eradicate Equine Influenza. There has been no deviation by participants in the non-racing sectors from the aim of eradicating EI from Australia.

I had a meeting on Monday 29 October with representatives of the national groups representing Quarter Horses, Arabians, Stock Horses, Ponies and EFA. I had a meeting on Wednesday 31 October with Victorian representatives of Pony Club, EFA, Agricultural Shows and Adult Riding club. AHIC has also had extensive feedback from surveys on the web site. Other States also provide similar views.

The messages are quite clear and consistent ever since the outbreak of EI commenced in August:

1. Non-racing sector wants eradication of EI.

2. Non-racing sector does not want to live with an endemic EI situation.

3. Non-racing sector is against use of vaccine outside the agreed purposes of containment, disease reduction, and (with a great deal of reluctance) mitigation of some economic losses.

4. Non-racing sector is against use of vaccine in non-infected jurisdictions.

5. Non-racing sector is prepared to continue to cancel or delay gatherings and events until after 31 December in the interests of the national horse industry to reduce risk of EI spread. This is voluntary in non-infected jurisdictions and is done at considerable cost to non-racing sectors, but they are prepared to continue this with the thought that they will be able to commence events early in the new year with added biosecurity measures to be determined over the next couple of months.

6. Non-racing sector is prepared to continue the eradication efforts beyond 1% GVP. How much beyond is difficult to determine at this stage. Continued feedback about success of ongoing efforts and costs will be essential for their decision making. Continuing with eradication for the next 3 months or more will be cheaper than the endemic situation.

7. Non-racing sector does not want mass vaccination under any circumstances. There is more than 50 years experience in endemic countries that this does not work and ensures ongoing costs of vaccination, treatment of sick horses, quarantine, unpredictable business disruption, and inability of horses to compete. Yes, events do continue in those countries where mass vaccination is allowed, but the pool of horses available to compete is reduced. Japan currently is a good example of this situation.

8. Non-racing sector does not want introduction of killed vaccines under any circumstances. This makes monitoring of disease spread impossible with current technology - cannot distinguish vaccinated from infected animals. So you have no idea where EI is circulating in the horse herd. Success or otherwise of eradication efforts are impossible to judge with use of killed vaccine.

I hope this feedback from 85% of the national horse industry is useful for decision makers.

AHIC urges you to contact immediately your:

  • • State Minister for Primary Industries,
  • • your local Federal and State member, and
  • • the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

to voice your continued support for eradication of EI from Australia .

Contact details are listed below :

Hon Peter McGauran Federal Minster for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry

Peter.McGauran.MP@aph.gov.au

Parliamentary Office : Ph: (02) 6277 7520   Fax: (02) 6273 4120

Electoral Office  Tel: (03) 5144 6744  Fax: (03) 5144 3945

 

Sen Kerry O’Brien Shadow Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry

senator.obrien@aph.gov.au

Parliamentary Office Ph (02) 6277 3842   Fax  (02) 6277 3780

Electoral Office : Ph (03) 6334 9366  Fax : (03) 6334 9369

 

State Ministers for Agriculture

Qld  Tim Mulherin   dpi@ministerial.qld.gov.au

Electoral Office (07) 4957 8422    Fax: (07) 4951 4794

 

NSW  Ian McDonald   macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au

Phone (02) 9228 3344 Fax (02) 9228 3452

 

VIC  Joe Helper  joe.helper@parliament.vic.gov.au

Parliamentary Office  Ph (03) 9658 4670  Fax (03) 9658 4631

Or Electoral Office   Tel: (03) 5461 1255  Fax: (03) 5461 1631

 

SA  Rory McEwen  pirsa.ministers@state.sa.gov.au

Ph  (08) 8226 0322 Fax (08) 8226 0316

 

WA  Kim Chance  kim-chance@dpc.wa.gov.au

Phone (08) 9213 6700   Fax: (08) 9213 6701

NT  Chris Natt   minister.natt@nt.gov.au

Phone: (08) 8901 4132  Fax: (08) 8901 4134

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2005 Australian Horse Industry Council

 

 

 

 

When will it end?

When will it end?

At the time of writing, control operations are into the second week, but it is not possible to forecast the likely time it will take to eradicate the disease. At this stage, control measures are on track, and all infections being discovered are linked in some way to the original infection point.

If people cooperate with the horse movement stand-still, and people practise good basic hygiene to prevent property-to-property spread, the outbreak will die a natural death within a few months.

However, it will only take a small number of unauthorised horse movements for the disease to spread and extend the time needed to complete eradication

Horse Owers-Care of Horses

Owners are also being asked to limit contact between their horses and other horses as much as possible and not to move their horses.


For events already underway, organisers are requested to contact the State Department of Agriculture regarding advice on how to manage the standstill in relation to these events.


For states other than NSW, some movement of horses in transit will be allowed to continue, if they had already left their usual place of residence. They will be able to return provided that the journey can be completed expeditiously:


• only within the state


• preferably completed within 4 hours


• completed with no contact with other horses not of the same consignment (or at the same event).


• The movement is directly back to the premises from which the current journey originated and on which the horses had been held or were present immediately prior to the recent movement Note that for NSW a complete standstill applies i.e. no movement at all.


On return home the horses should be isolated from other horses and watched closely for fever and respiratory signs. Equine influenza can be spread by humans so wash hands and change clothes before handling other horses. All horse owners should keep a close watch on their animals and report any signs of fever, coughing or respiratory symptoms to their local veterinarian.


Further information on equine influenza is available at http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horse/influenza



DISINFECTION AND APPROVED DISINFECTANTS


Equine influenza virus can easily be killed by vigorous cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated objects and is rapidly inactivated by exposure to ultraviolet light.


A dirty surface must always be cleaned thoroughly before it can be satisfactorily disinfected. Organic material such as dirt, manure and straw may neutralise the disinfectant and make it useless.

It is therefore most important that anything that must be disinfected is first thoroughly washed and cleaned and finally washed down or sprayed with an approved disinfectant.


Virkon® at a 1:100 dilution rate is the disinfectant of first choice for use on clothing, footwear, transport vehicles and equipment.

Where bulk disinfection of stables and buildings is required is required, other chemicals may be more cost-effective.
As disinfectants and chemicals can be irritant, persons handling them should always read the product label and follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and wear protective clothing as necessary.

Further information about cleaning and disinfection can be found in the AUSVETPLAN Decontamination Manual which is available on-line at http://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/programs/eadp/ausvetplan_home.cfm


"A complete standstill has been declared on all movements of horses, including donkeys and mules, in NSW by the NSW Department of Primary Industries in an effort to control the spread of equine influenza and to prevent it from becoming established in Australia. NSW Department of Primary Industries is sending Inspectors under the Stock Diseases Act 1923 to inspect horses where there is concern that they may have been exposed to an infected horse.** People who move horses without permission during the current suspected equine influenza outbreak have been warned they will suffer harsh penalties for breaching movement restrictions.

NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Bruce Christie said moving any horses within a restricted area without first obtaining a permit could lead to a fine of up to $44,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment.


'Moving any equine animal into, out of, or within the 10 kilometre restricted areas around Centennial Park and the Eastern Creek quarantine facility is prohibited unless a permit is obtained prior to movement,'


Dr Christie said. 'The remainder of New South Wales is now a declared control area, which means movement restrictions apply throughout the state and there are severe penalties for any breaches of movement restrictions without a permit in the control area.


'Movement restrictions also apply to the movement of any equine products within the state.'

Suspected signs of equine influenza should be reported to the NSW Emergency Animal Disease

 Hotline on 1800 675 888."

http://www.outbreak.gov.au/
http://www.outbreak.gov.au/pests_diseases/pests_diseases_animals/equine_influenza/faqs.htm

These are the relevant dpi web sites/pages:
http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/xchg/dpi/hs.xsl/27_6921_ENA_HTML.htm

 

Temperature Chart

Temperature Recording for Horses Name:                             
Record Daily Sep-07
Keep a separate sheet for each horse    
Date
Time am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm
40.4 +                           
40.2                            
40                          
39.8                            
39.6                            
39.4                            
39.2                          
39                            
38.8                          
38.6                            
38.4                          
38.2                            
38                      
37.8                            
37.6                            
37.4                            
37.2                          
37                            
36.8                          
36.6                            
36.4