THE Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) welcomed the announcement on Monday that the Hendra virus vaccine has been approved to be delivered annually.
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Until now, horses were required to have the boosters every six months to maintain immunity against the deadly virus. Dr Ian Fulton, President of Equine Veterinarians Australia said the change in the booster regime would make delivering the vaccine easier for everyone involved.
“With the annual booster, horse owners can halve the number of boosters required. This is great news and will help to reduce the cost of vaccination to owners,” Dr Fulton said.
Cedar Vale horse owner Helen Cole said the change to the vaccine regime was fantastic.
“There is the obvious financial implication but I am a big believer that the vaccine is building up in their systems, so having twelve months between vaccines will limit the frequency of side effects some horses have displayed after receiving the vaccine,” she said.
Redlands Veterinary Clinic veterinarian Dr David Lovell whose colleague Ben Cuneen died of Hendra virus in 2008, said the development of the vaccine in 2012 and its registration on August 4 last year was the greatest breakthrough to happen within the Australian horse industry.
The development of a vaccine was fast-tracked by Csiro in 2011 after Queensland and New South Wales witnessed an unprecedented spike in the number of Hendra virus cases with 18 outbreaks and 24 cases in horses reported. It was also the year that the first dog tested positive to the Hendra virus, prompting the urgent development of a vaccine.
“The vaccine is the single most effective way of reducing the risk of Hendra virus infection,” Dr Lovell said.
“It saves lives, keeps horses and people, as well as the workplace safe.”
With no known treatment for the deadly Hendra virus, Dr Lovell said the situation had become so critical that the majority of veterinarians would not attend to an unvaccinated horse.
“Veterinarians are in a situation where they are far more likely to be exposed to and pick up the disease, which, if not fatal leaves permanent damage to the respiratory and neurological systems,” he said.
“The risk is simply too great.”
He welcomed the approval of the annual vaccine booster, sayin ghorse owners had found the six monthly booster regime onerous and expensive. “It has been a limiting factor of the vaccine,” he said.
In January this year, the Hendra virus vaccine was approved for use in pregnant mares too.
Since 2012, more than 415,000 doses of the Hendra vaccine have been administered to horses around Australia.
