Hendra Horse Virus And Australian Horse Racing
The Hendra horse virus has so far killed 4 Veterinarians in Australia and two horse owner/trainers
. The outbreak of this deadly disease has reared its ugly head in Australia once more this past week and now has another four people waiting to see whether or not they are infected. Can you imagine the worry and angst those families are going through? Doesn't bare thinking about.So what is this virus? The Hendra horse virus was first detected in Brisbane Australia in 1994 when it killed a horse trainer by the name of Vic Rail at a small township called Hendra. During this outbreak of the virus it killed fourteen horses as well as the horse trainer, Vic Rail. Up until this point in time, it was unknown for a virus to spread from a horse to a human being. The virus is carried by Fruit Bats and this is what infects the horses. Many stockyards in Australia are situated under shady trees to provide shade for any animals held in the yards.
These shady trees often produce fruit that these fruit bats love to eat, or they provide a good nesting rookery for these Fruit Bats to home in on every night. These Fruit Bats cause a lot of damage to Fruit Farms and aren't particular about what type of fruit they eat. Most trees in Australia produce something edible each year that these Fruit Bats love and they gouge themselves which in turn, creates a lot of urine and poo, and this falls into the horse drinking troughs and infects the water.
Bat birthing fluids are also considered to be a cause of infections. Even daily cleaning of these horse troughs isn't enough to stop the virus from making the horse sick by which time the owner/trainer then calls in a Vet to see to the animal.
Unfortunately for Veterinarians, the symptoms of Hendra are not specifically distinctive, so Vets attend these animals initially when not fully protected with full Biosuits. By the time the disease is clearly identified, the horse is much, much sicker and the Vet isn't feeling well either displaying 'flu-like symptoms.
By this stage the horse is immediately put down and the Vet goes to the isolation ward in their local hospital. To date, there is no vaccine for horse or human. Few humans have survived so far but there has been a stable hand in McKay who is still alive after being infected in the original outbreak.
Fruit Bats who carry the Hendra virus will sometimes infect a human directly if they are foolish enough to pick up an injured Bat and it bites them. This species of Fruit Bat, Pteropid Fruit Bats, is found in the tropical regions of Queensland so I guess living in Queensland can't always be perfect.
The C.S.I.R.O has come close to developing a vaccine for the Hendra Horse Virus but is in urgent need of more funding to trial it.
In Australia, the Horse Racing Industry is a billion dollar industry so many are asking the question Why aren't more Horse racing Associations putting in funds for a vaccine for this deadly disease? After all, if this virus spreads it can, and has, closed down race tracks around Australia so why isn't the industry protecting its vested interests better?
Could it be because they are betting it won't affect them?
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