Convenient..........

With the upcoming Re-introduction of movement restrictions in the purple zone in January, it is again great to see what is driving this campaign to eradicate EI in NSW (plus the rest of the country).
Whilst the rest of the horse industry (Non-TB's) have patiently sat at home, unable to move our horses and the TB industry have been able to continue their breeding season and go to the races, we are now told that we are once again 'unable to move' (not that WE have been allowed to anyway).
What TOTALLY astounds me is the choice of date, this re-introduction of movement restrictions for the purple zone commences as of the 14th of January, AND WHEN DOES THE TB BREEDING SEASON FINISH?? - THE 15TH JANUARY!!! This is when the season closes and breeders are no longer allowed to serve mares.
So while we have been unable to travel mares to stallions the TB industry has again had the DPI wrapped around their little finger and they are controlling what happens and when.

And whilst the DPI & government refuses to admit there are two sets of rules, this again just shows that there obviously are!! No one wants this awful disease in our beautiful country that the TB industry introduced along with the ignorance and incompetence of our quarantine services and I am all for eradication but I am also for a fair go and fair treatment for Everyone!

Debbie
An unhappy resident in the Purple Zone, NSW.

Kiwis learn from NSW EI experience

New Zealand exotic disease specialists drafted into the NSW equine influenza (EI) response team to help battle the disease have taken home knowledge to improve the emergency response readiness of New Zealand authorities.
In addition, two New Zealand Government sponsored biosecurity managers have toured the NSW local control centre at Menangle and have been briefed by key EI decision-makers.
Richard Calvert and Andrea Murray said first-hand experience of Australia’s response to EI would enable them to make recommendations on how to improve New Zealand’s state of readiness for an EI outbreak and its emergency management response plans.
“The key point we have learnt is that knowing exactly where horses are is critical to controlling and eradicating equine influenza,” Mr Calvert said.
The two New Zealanders studied the operations, surveillance, movement control, management and epidemiology measures conducted by the NSW EI response team.
“The scale of the operation is amazing and the focus and energy of the people working on it is impressive,” Ms Murray said.
During their visit, they were briefed by three of the seven New Zealand specialists who have been playing crucial roles in the NSW.
Sharyn Holmwood, Josephine Taute and Helen Crabb were busy working to control and eradicate EI from NSW since the early stages of the outbreak.
Mrs Holmwood, an EI Surveillance Officer, worked as the first point of contact for people who find their horses are sick with EI, while Mrs Taute maintained a database of information about EI.
Epidemiologist Helen Crabb is from Waikato, the New Zealand horse industry equivalent to NSW’s Hunter region – where any future outbreak of EI would hit hardest.
“From the NSW experience it is apparent that EI could travel from one end of New Zealand to another in a very short time,” Ms Crabb said.
“The best way New Zealand can prepare veterinarians for outbreaks of exotic diseases is to send people to work on outbreaks across the world such as England’s foot and mouth and Australia’s EI.”
Two New Zealand Government specialists have worked at the State disease control headquarters at Orange for short periods.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Biosecurity Exoitic Disease Investigation and Response epidemiologist, Paul Bingham, said he and fellow MAF epidemiologist Matthew Stone believed EI had helped develop better cross-Tasman cooperation.
“A large outbreak like this doesn’t come along every day. We’ve learned a lot about responding to an exotic disease on this scale,” Mr Bingham said.

What about the amber zone?

While it is wonderful that things are starting to move,re: purple zone to start turning green, what about the people in the Amber zone?? No mention is made about when the amber zone restrictions will be looked at.
Green zones can hold events, purple zone can hold events and very soon use traveling horse statements to move and ride, but the amber zone still has to sit tight? What is the go?
It would be nice if the DPI told us what the plan was for the amber zone.
Might sell my brumbies and buy a racehorse, then it won't matter what zone or how long EI is here for.
Cheers Rhonda.

An Omen 3 Days prior to EI Outbreak in Australia?

Equine influenza explained

By Scott Heinrich
FOXSPORTS.com.au
August 22, 2007

WITH the Japanese racing industry crippled by an outbreak of equine influenza, there is concern that horses from the country, including last year's winner Delta Blues, could miss the Melbourne Cup.

Unless the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is satisfied that the Japanese horses have not been infected, they will not be allowed into Australia.
But what is equine flu, and why are authorities so determined to keep it out of Australia? FOXSPORTS.com.au contacted Dr Leanne Begg, a specialist in equine medicine at the Randwick Equine Centre, to find out more about the virus.
What is equine influenza?
"It’s a respiratory disease that is highly contagious and spreads rapidly. Because we don’t have it in this country, none of our horse population – particularly our racing horse population – is vaccinated against it. So if it did enter the country it would spread rapidly and have a high morbidity, which means lots of horses would get infected. They won’t all necessarily die, but some can progress to pneumonia and other complications. Some horses could get quite sick. The majority would just get a fever and cough, but then their performance may be affected for several months afterwards. It would pretty much stop racing in Australia."
What are the symptoms and how is the virus transmitted?
"High temperature, coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge. It’s a respiratory disease, so coughing, snorting over other horses (will transmit the virus) and people can be carriers for it as well. It doesn’t live in the environment for a very long time so it’s most commonly horse to horse, but if a horse coughed or sneezed on your hands and you went and handled another horse, certainly a person could be a carrier. Most likely it would just spread through a stable with horses coughing. It’s got a really short incubation period, only one to three days. The signs appear quite quickly and it’s got a rapid ability to spread from horse to horse."
What can be done to ward against it?
"They do vaccinate. Most horses in Japan are vaccinated, so in a vaccinated population it’s not that big a deal. There will be small outbreaks but it’s not going to spread. The problem with us is the majority of the general racing population wouldn’t be vaccinated, so if it did enter the population, it would spread quite quickly."
Which countries are not affected by equine flu, and how has Australia remained immune?
"We’re pretty privileged that we don’t have it here. I found a reference to substantiate that ‘Australia and New Zealand are currently the only large equine populations yet to be exposed to equine influenza’. We are pretty unique.
In the old days, when horses had to come by boat, they would either be over it or would be dead before they got to Australia. It’s because we are so isolated, but the problem these days with air transport is that within 48 hours a horse can go from England or America or Japan to Australia. There is pre-export quarantine and then there is post-export quarantine in this country for two weeks. That has also helped keep it out, because if a horse is going to get sick it should get sick quite quickly. (Equine flu) is not one of these diseases that hangs around in the body for months and months and then suddenly appears. If it’s there you’ll see it. But with the increased number of horses travelling around, I guess it increases the possibility that it could be spread to Australia."
What would happen if equine flu was detected in Australia?
"It’s a bit like foot-and-mouth in England. There would be quarantine. Horses wouldn’t be allowed to move. It would basically shut down racing. What they would try to do is isolate an area, and if it was in the country they would vaccinate to try to stop it spreading. All horses would potentially be vulnerable to it. From then on we’d have to vaccinate our horses every year for it, which is something we don’t have to worry about right now. We’ve got lots of stallions coming into the country around this time of year, so there would be potentially a huge monetary effect on the Australian racing and breeding industry."
How does the flu compare with other equine diseases?
"We do have herpes viruses in this country that cause similar respiratory problems, but we don’t tend to see as many secondary issues with this as we do with influenza. Quite a few horses get pneumonia, heart problems and a few other complications from that disease that you don’t see in other respiratory viruses. A small percentage of horses with equine flu could die from it. But the biggest thing is it would spread, and horses who have had the disease are going to have their performance affected. They wouldn’t die, but they would lose days in training and a small number would develop other complications from it."

TAB recovers from the flu

NSW TAB wagering turnover is emerging from the equine influenza betting slump, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

TAB betting sales have surged since Christmas despite a plethora of small field sizes across Sydney and provincial race meetings.
Racing NSW attracted unwarranted criticism for scheduling a return to normal race programming so soon after EI but betting trends indicate race-starved punters are embracing the opportunity to bet on NSW racing again.
When EI shut down NSW racing from August until the end of November last year, TAB turnover fell by 23 per cent on the corresponding period in 2006.
After racing resumed last month, TAB turnover improved dramatically with betting down only 4.8 per cent on 2006 figures even though there were fewer NSW race meetings in December, 2007 than the previous year.
From Boxing Day to New Year's Day - when criticism of too much racing reached a crescendo - TAB betting sales continued to improve with turnover only 1.9 per cent below 2006 for the same period.
"These figures indicate that betting is slowly returning to normal," Tabcorp's wagering supremo Robert Nason said.
"It also shows Racing NSW's decision to put the race meetings back on - even with small fields - was the correct one," Nason said, adding that with the racing schedule virtually back to normal now, TAB punters are back into the habit of betting again.
"From 23 per cent (down) to 4.8 per cent was a big improvement and the figures since Boxing Day have been particularly encouraging.
"All the statistics show that we should be back to a position of showing some turnover growth by February."
And the improvements in TAB turnover is being reflected in the betting rings with bookmakers reporting substantial wagering holds in recent weeks.
Bookie Tom Waterhouse revealed earlier this week his turnover at Wyong races on Wednesday reached nearly $2 million compared with his average provincial hold of $200,000.
TAB turnover is usually given a boost in January by the feature Magic Millions meeting on the Gold Coast but that raceday has been switched to March because of the EI outbreak.
Nason predicts wagering turnover won't slide again despite the re-programming of Magic Millions.
"A lot of the trainers traditionally take that period off in January and go away to the Gold Coast," Nason explained.
"The Magic Millions was always a good meeting for us turnover-wise but with the trainers away, we found Sydney and Melbourne fields and betting tended to drop away a little mid-January.
"Obviously most trainers will be staying home this year and the word we are getting is that the field sizes should continue to improve."

Qld horses take next step to EI recovery

Queensland's performance and pleasure horse sector will be permitted to stage events in a first step towards recovery from last year's equine influenza (EI) outbreak.

Queensland's Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has opened applications for events in the sector, which covers non-racing horses and groups such as pony clubs and horse export businesses.
Chief inspector of stock Dr Allison Crook said organisers would have to meet strict standards with biosecurity and contingency plans to take effect if any horses came down with a respiratory illness.
"This is a major step forward to helping those organisers that plan to hold an event in early 2008," Dr Crook said.
"They can determine their requirements to meet the protocols, and if (the) event is approved by the DPI, they commence advertising for nominations."
But Arabian Horse Association of Queensland secretary Sharyn Hungerford, from Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, said the move posed more problems for owners.
Many owners hit by the cost of treating horses for EI could not afford to attend, and others were unwilling to expose horses that hadn't been infected with EI to possible risk, she said.
Mrs Hungerford questioned whether opening the state to events at this stage was fair.
"You will have to be either vaccinated or prove that you had EI in your horses before you can compete," she told AAP.
"On the Sunshine Coast, we feel like we're in a hole.
"We haven't had EI, and we haven't been able to have our horses vaccinated yet.
"I don't think it's particularly fair to hold a competition when not everybody can attend."
Mrs Hungerford said she expected horse owners would exercise extreme caution this year.
"Some people are willing to forgo all of 2008 for a better outcome, and I'm one who is thinking that way," she said.

Qld EI quarantine facility set to open

Queensland Racing Limited (QRL) says a new quarantine area to allow the industry to improve travel in the lead-up to the state's winter racing carnival could be in operation by Monday.
QRL chief operations manager Malcolm Tuttle on Thursday said it was hoped the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) would approve Grandview Stud, at Peak Crossing, south-west of Brisbane, as a quarantine facility by Friday, which would allow its operation on Monday.
It would then be used to more easily move horses between red, amber and green zones within Queensland and interstate which were established to overcome last year's equine influenza (EI) outbreak, Mr Tuttle said.
Up to 18 horses would be able to be quarantined in any week, accommodating those either spelling or pre-training.
The horses would be brought in on a Monday afternoon, and leave the following Monday morning after testing cleared them of carrying EI.
"Top of our mind is the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival that before too long will be upon us and also the need to free up movement of horses," he said.
He said the facility would be part of ensuring horses could travel into and around Queensland and then return to their base in Queensland or interstate.
"For example, if we were unable to facilitate the return of these horses to Victoria and NSW, it would be unlikely that they would come for any period of time," he said.
Mr Tuttle said the industry would measure whether the 17 quarantine spaces per week was enough before deciding whether more similar facilities were needed.
Comment from DPI&F was being sought.
Meanwhile, Mr Tuttle said the number of EI infected premises in the south-east corner had dropped to 827 Thursday after reaching a peak of approximately 2,200 in mid November 2007.

Colac District P&A Society Show

Friday 8th, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th February. Full horse program including Show jumping, breeds etc.
Click here to download the program