Blast from Past: Equine influenza vaccine rushed to Gold Coast

In this week’s Blast From The Past column we look back at another influenza that ravaged the racing industry.

June 18, 2013: While concerns over coronavirus remain the global focus today, seven years ago there was much being made of the equine influenza which ravaged the racing industry on the Gold Coast.

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THE first batch of equine influenza vaccine will be rushed to the Gold Coast as soon as it arrives in Australia in a desperate bid to salvage some races and save Queensland’s $700 million racing industry from total disaster.

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Horse racing in Brisbane was suspended until at least February 1 after reports of further outbreaks of the flu at Deagon and Albion Park, as well as Doomben.

The growing crisis prompted the Gold Coast Turf Club to cancel all flea markets at its racecourse amid fears stallholders were coming from Tamborine and other areas infected with the horse flu.

The Gold Coast Turf Club post equine influenza. Empty tables at the bar.

However, it’s believed there will be no horse races on the Gold Coast and other major horse flu-free centres like Caloundra, Toowoomba and Ipswich until horses there are vaccinated against EI.

Sources have said that inoculation period could mean anything from 28 days to six weeks.

Racing Minister Andrew Fraser held a crisis meeting with industry representatives and said the industry was now pinning its hopes on the Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Ipswich where large pools of racehorses were still healthy.

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“This undoubtedly is Queensland Racing’s darkest hour,’’ he said.

About half of the 20,000 vials of vaccine due to arrive in Australia from France tomorrow night will come to Queensland with the vaccination of horses based on the Gold Coast a priority.

The Gold Coast Turf Club post equine influenza. Winner of race 8, Turfiste, ridden by Glen Colless.

“The idea is obviously that you vaccinate the clean horse population. That’s a priority for us,’’ he said.

“That will enable us, on some scenarios, an ability to have those horses back on track perhaps before the first of February. That would certainly be our aim.’’

The horses will need three doses over the next five months and will take six to eight weeks to develop an immunity to the flu.

Although the horses can theoretically be back on track and racing a couple of days after the first dose, Mr Fraser was not sure when the Gold Coast would next hold a race meeting.

“That is very much a day-by-day proposition at the moment,’’ he said.

Queensland Racing chairman Bob Bentley said the vaccination program would begin as soon as the vaccine arrived.

“The moment it hits the deck we will be organised to do it. We don’t care if it is the middle of the night,’’ he said.

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But he said there was still a big risk the horse flu would hit the Gold Coast and he warned horse handlers to take the threat seriously.

“I hope that it doesn’t because there is a big pool of horses down there but it’s a high risk area because of where it is,’’ he said.

“It’s close to Tamborine and there is a lot of movement of people out of that area around the Gold Coast and unfortunately the public just don’t understand the seriousness of this particular situation and they are moving between people and horses and that is the biggest problem.”