Communication Breakdown Re Queensland EI Outbreak.

In response to quite a few emails and calls from worried Queensland horse owners, as the Queensland DPI site as of early am on the 18th September, had not been updated since the 13th September, we went on a quest to discover the latest information regarding the EI outbreak there. And quite a quest it was, with little to show for it other than how difficult it is to find out what is going on.

We went to the Queensland DPI website on the morning of the 18th to discover nothing since the 13th. We rang the DPI and were told to look at the website, and when we persisted were put through to the DPI call center supervisor. We were advised that they had handled 10,000 calls successfully since the outbreak and that there was nothing to put up on the website, as there was nothing further to advise! We said that we had heard from the Warwick treating veterinarian, Nathan Anthony that the virus was spreading and were told to take what we were told by vets, “with a pinch of salt” and that we should go to the website http://www.ouutbreak.gov.au/. Apart from a brief encounter with fire ants, we found ourselves back at the DPI site. Another suggestion was to listen to ABC radio for updates. Neither the website nor the ABC are viable options for all people.

We then rang the Queensland EFA and were told that the people emailing or calling Horse Deals for information were not their members, as they were kept up to date via the State EFA website. We told them that some were in fact EFA members (and even if they were not they are still concerned horse owners). When we went to that site there was no more than a link back to the ‘at that time’ not updated since the 13th DPI website. Further to our conversation with the Queensland EFA we were told that they only put up what they were sent by the National EFA or the DPI.

We contacted National EFA CEO, Franz Venhaus, who was concerned that there was no information for the Queensland members. He said he would email some contacts he had and would try to get some information out to the members. Whether it was Franz’s efforts or the Queensland DPI waking from a temporary slumber, information was posted on the site at approximately 11am on 18th September.

It would seem Victorians are kept more in the loop as to the Queensland outbreak, as the Victorian DPI issue regular situation reports, which include the number of infected properties. As of the 17th September we were informed that Queensland had 146 infected properties. However, the Queensland DPI have subsequently issued that as of the 18th September there are 167 (conservative estimate) properties in Queensland, at Warwick, Brisbane Western Suburbs, Minden, Rosewood, Goondiwindi, and Tamborine, and new cases had been detected in those areas in the last five days. There is now serious talk regarding creating ‘buffer zones’ with boundaries established and horses moved from the buffer zones into the infected zones, but at the time of writing, nothing official had been broadcast.

Please Note.

There is to be a major meeting tomorrow, 19th, in Queensland with the DPI, veterinarians and other concerned bodies regarding the eradication of EI. Tomorrow evening Horse Deals will have information regarding that meeting.