Japan was source of horse flu, says vet

JAPAN has been highlighted as the source of the equine influenza virus, which caused losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars to the racing industry, wiping out the spring racing carnival last year.

The finger had been pointed at horses from Ireland as the initial source of the disease entering Australia via the Eastern Creek animal quarantine centre.
In public testimony to the inquiry last week, Dr James Watson, the veterinary investigation leader at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory, confirmed Japan as the likely source of the virus entering Australia.
"Putting all those facts together … it points to some form of common exposure of the horses, which favours the origin somewhere in Japan or transit therefrom," Dr Watson told the inquiry.
Dr Watson was speaking ahead of a report that is expected to be tabled at the inquiry later today by Dr Richard Newton from Britain's Animal Health Trust. Dr Newton is the world's leading expert on equine influenza. His report is also expected to point to Japan as the source of the influenza.
The outbreak of the disease in NSW and Queensland caused havoc for the horse racing and breeding industry last year, with all races cancelled for several months as movement of horses around the state came to a halt. Races in Sydney did not resume until just before Christmas.
The first horse to show symptoms of the disease in Australia was a stallion at Coolmore Stud, Encosta de Lago, on August 17.
Dr Watson informed the inquiry that the Coolmore Stud horse was infected after arriving in Australia, while the stallion Snitzel, shuttled over from Japan, had exhibited symptoms of equine influenza before August 8. Another horse from Japan, Jungle Pocket, was also probably infected before arriving in Australia.
Two other infected horses, Zenno Rob Roy and Black Hawk, were in the same pre-export quarantine in Hokkaido, northern Japan, before they were flown to Australia last August.
The inquiry has heard also of breaches of protocol at Eastern Creek and in quarantine procedures at Sydney airport.
Today is the last day of public hearings of the inquiry, which is being chaired by Ian Callinan.