Welcome to the September issue of the Intervest Global newsletter. As always we have filled it with tips and tricks, brain teasers and much, much more. We have included an article on Equine Flu which has had a huge effect on the horse racing industry and is continuing to limit racing in New South Wales and Queensland.

You will also notice that we have profiled Michael who we mentioned in our last newsletter had come aboard as a trainer. Michael has eased the training load for Paul and Peter so that we can offer you better training with shorter times between sessions.

In other news the count down to Melbourne Cup has begun....

What is Equine Influenza?    

Equine Influenza is a highly contagious viral disease and comes from the same group of viruses that causes flu in humans. It is common throughout Europe, North America and parts of Asia and until recently was exotic to Australia. If it establishes itself here it will have a major impact on all horse sectors even larger than that which we have already experienced.

EI has many of the same symptoms as human flu such as high temperatures, a dry cough, nasal discharge, loss of appetite and muscle soreness. Just like the common cold it cannot be remedied with drugs and requires rest. If the horse is worked during the recovery it runs the risk of developing secondary infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. It is recommended that a horse be rested for at least a week for every day of coughing.

EI is spread rapidly and easily making it difficult to contain. It can be spread through contaminated equipment, tack, buildings and vehicles. Most alarmingly it can be transferred through human contact. We can not contract EI but we can carry it on our skin and clothes. If EI is to be contained it is of utmost importance that anyone coming in contact with infected horses must be vigilant in disinfecting not only equipment and clothes but also themselves.

How is it impacting the horse racing industry and what is being done to contain it?

The following maps show the areas in NSW and QLD where outbreaks of Equine Influenza have occured. The outbreak caused a ban on movement of horses into and out of the infected states, thus preventing horses from NSW in particular from competing in the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne next month. These bans have so far contained the EI outbreak to NSW and QLD.

A large scale vaccination program has been announced with the first 20,000 of 150,000 doses of vaccine ariving in Australia from France on Friday. The first area targeted will be the Southern buffer zone between Victoria and New South Wales. 1000 doses will also be sent to Melbourne to innoculate those horses competing in the Spring Racing Carnival. Once vaccinated horses will show immunity in two weeks. Another positive is that even without the vaccine the number of infected properties is declining.