Aust EI-Free By Mid-March

Meanwhile Aushorse noted Australia "is expected to be declared provisionally free of equine influenza by mid-March if no new incidents are detected: that would be 3 months earlier than originally projected". Laboratories have completed more than 10,700 Polymerase Chain Reaction tests with no positive results since December 22. (The PCR test detects the EI virus or its remnants: a positive result indicates a horse is infected, or has been infected, with EI in the past 30 days.) Aushorse chairman & Thoroughbred Breeders Australia president John Messara commented: "Australia has made excellent progress at combating the disease. A major factor has been the implementation of zones & the success of the vaccination programme in NSW & Queensland, where more than 90% of targeted horses have received their 1st vaccination & more than 80% their 2nd. With race results also proving there are no long-term effects of EI on the performance of horses, we can certainly head into our sales season with renewed confidence."