A horse in the Newcastle area has tested positive to a Hendra virus-variant.
The Australian Veterinary Association has advised a local veterinarian diagnosed a 7-year-old unvaccinated Clydesdale horse from West Wallsend on Tuesday, October 5.
A private vet attended the property in response to a call with the horse showing severe neurological signs before collapsing and being euthanised.
The case is the furthest south that a positive case has ever been diagnosed and the furthest south a death has been the result of a horse contracting Hendra.
There are five other horses on the property but they aren’t showing any signs of being sick.
Public Health Officers from NSW Health are undertaking risk assessments of any people who have had contact with the infected horse.
Hendra is carried by flying foxes and causes severe disease that spreads in horses but can also spread to humans.
In NSW to date there have been 24 horse deaths as a result of Hendra virus on 23 properties since the first NSW case in 2006. There have been no human deaths from Hendra virus in
NSW.
Vaccination of horses is the most effective way to help manage Hendra virus disease
Image credit: HLLS