THE call to vaccinate horses against the Hendra virus has been repeated in the wake of Biosecurity Queensland’s report of a case of the deadly ban-borne disease at Tamborine Mountain.
Spokesperson for the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Dr Ben Poole has renewed the organisation’s community-wide appeal, reminding horse owners of the annual Hendra virus vaccine which became widely available in May, 2016.
But there is some push-back from the ‘anti-vaccer’ community, which Dr Poole attributes to the social media attention the issue gets, including some common misconceptions about the vaccine.
"Stories get propagated in the social media,” he said.
“The reason the Hendra vaccine needs to be administered by a vet is because it's cold-stored at two to eight degrees, and needs to be administered to healthy animals.
“After an initial course of treatments, the annual cost for vaccinations is approximately $100.”
"Some horses will get a sore neck for a few days after being administered the Hendra virus vaccination, but that's a very small number of events."
"It is disappointing that people keep not vaccinating their horses. This is a preventable condition,” he said.
Rapid onset
According to Dr Poole, no-one can predict when and where the Hendra virus will occur, which increases the risks of horses contracting it at public events, and creates the need for extra resources whether the virus is ultimately found or not.
“Hendra has a rapid onset. A horse can be healthy one day and not the next,” he said.
"Government has stated it is not interested in a mandatory Hendra vaccine for animals attending equestrian events, but industry can take that step, and we (the AVA) would support that."
According to Dr Poole, vaccinated animals are entered into a national database.
