Vaccination to plug Southern route for EI - NSW DPI

Source: NSW DPI Website: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

About 300 horses in a 10km wide strip just north of Mittagong will be the first vaccinated as part of the “buffer zone” phase in the campaign to eradicate the exotic horse flu.

Horse owners in the northern part of the Wingecarribee Shire near Hilltop are currently being contacted and informed of the options for their horses.

“These owners will be helping form a 200 square kilometre ‘southern plug’ to stop the spread south of the EI virus,” said NSW deputy chief veterinarian Steve Dunn.

“They can move their horses under permit from the area to another property towards or into red zone,” he said.

“Or they can elect to keep them onsite and have them vaccinated and micro-chipped by a veterinarian at no cost.

“Most owners have so far elected to have their horses vaccinated rather than take up a $500 offer to move their horses.”

NSW Department of Primary Industries has set up a Local Vaccination Centre at Mittagong from where the vaccine will be dispensed to teams of authorised veterinarians.

“These vets will be visiting properties to vaccinate the horses from early Saturday morning,” Mr Dunn said.

“The target is to have all horses moved or vaccinated as rapidly as possible and create a buffer to stop the spread south of equine influenza.

“Co-operation from horse owners in the buffer zones is vitally important in the success of this campaign.”

The vaccine will NOT be made available to each and every horse owner in NSW, but used for disease control in nominated buffer zones such as this one south of Sydney.

Some doses will also go to protect high value, at risk horse populations within restricted areas. Industry representatives are identifying these high value, at risk horses requiring vaccination.

Mr Dunn said it was important to note that this vaccine is NOT the silver bullet, or the answer to all the problems thrown up by the EI outbreak.

“Vaccination will not stop a horse from being infected; it will reduce the clinical signs and reduce virus secretion, helping to stop spread.

“Biosecurity, hygiene and movement restrictions remain vitally important to our effort to contain this disease.”

The “southern plug” will be followed by other buffers north of Sydney around Gloucester, then around known outlying infected properties and other edges of the Red Zone.