Equine Influenza Hits British Racing For Six

[Wandering Eyes]

There will be no racing in Britain for six days following three confirmed cases of Equine Influenza (EI) in horses in training. Following an initial one-day shutdown on Thursday, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced that it is suspending all race meetings in the country until Wednesday, 13 Feb. while ongoing testing is completed.

On Wednesday evening it was confirmed by the Animal Health Trust that three Thoroughbreds had tested positive for EI despite being vaccinated against the virus. The affected yard was later confirmed as Donald McCain’s Bankhouse Stables in Cheshire.

McCain had on Wednesday been represented by runners at jump meetings at Ayr and Ludlow as well as at a Flat meeting at Wolverhampton on Monday.

Robin Mounsey, Head of Media for the BHA, told the TDN on Thursday morning, “Coughing and nasal discharge are commonly seen symptoms in equines and we don’t stop movement of horses in this situation until there is a confirmed case of Equine Influenza.”

Precautionary measures put in place by the BHA have led to all racing stables in Britain which had runners at any of those three meetings being put on temporary lockdown while horses on the premises are tested for EI. These yards, which include the major National Hunt operations of Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls, as well as Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin stable at Moulton Paddocks, will not be able to have any runners until negative test results are returned.

A decision will be made by the BHA on Monday, Feb. 11 as to whether racing can resume two days later.

A statement released on Thursday afternoon read, “The BHA’s veterinary team has today been in contact with more than 50 trainers and veterinarians to allow it to make an informed assessment of the risk of equine influenza spreading. Whilst no further positive tests have been received, at least three more days are required before it will be possible to make a decision about whether it is safe to resume racing.

“The disease can take up to three days before symptoms are visible, meaning it will take until Sunday at the earliest before the BHA can gather all the information required. This approach will allow samples to be collected and assessed by the Animal Health Trust in order that a fully informed decision can be made on Monday. This may then allow declarations to take place on Tuesday in time for racing on Wednesday, with 24-hour declarations for all fixtures on this day, should racing be able to resume. Declarations for Thursday would revert to the usual procedures.”

Following a number of outbreaks in northern Europe, the BHA had previously issued an equine influenza alert to trainers on Jan. 25. It warned to isolate new arrivals in a yard for 14 days and to investigate with a vet any spread of nasal discharge or dry coughing. It was also advised that horses which had not been vaccinated within the last six months should receive a booster vaccination. EI can be transmitted either by air or through contact, including indirect contact via people.

Prior to the three cases confirmed on Wednesday, Feb. 6, there had been 19 incidents of EI across Europe in Thoroughbreds and non-Thoroughbreds since early December—ten in France, four in the UK, three in Germany, two in Ireland and two in Belgium. Eleven of these occurred in vaccinated horses. All British racehorses are vaccinated against equine influenza, but it is believed that a different strain of the virus in the recent cases has been affecting vaccinated horses. EI vaccinations are not compulsory for the wider horse population of the UK and the BHA estimates that up to 70% of equines in Britain may be unvaccinated.

In a statement issued through the National Trainers’ Federation, Donald McCain said, “I have been aware of the recent news about Equine Influenza outbreaks in France and Ireland and, over the last couple of days, I have been concerned about the health status of a small number of horses in the yard. Their welfare is at the front of our minds, so at my request, our veterinary surgeon has examined them regularly and we have followed his advice on testing and treatment. It was by following this protocol that the positive results for equine flu came to light yesterday evening. The BHA was contacted immediately and we are liaising closely with them about biosecurity and management of all the horses at Bankhouse.

“Bankhouse follows all the available advice on disease control and all our horses are fully inoculated. We are scrupulous about observing the health status of horses in our care and taking the necessary steps to treat any condition that may affect them. It follows we would never race any horses that we could have known were infected. Over the last two months, all potential runners have been scoped and their blood checked within 36 hours of their races to ensure that only healthy horses compete for the yard.

“When new horses arrive at our yard we, as much as possible, try to keep them separate but at this stage cannot know if the infection came from recent arrivals or from horses returning from racing. We have three confirmed cases and this morning have taken blood and swabs from all the others for testing.”

While racing is suspended in Britain, it is continuing in Ireland. Gordon Elliott, whose stable is based in County Meath, sent five horses to race at Ayr in Scotland on Wednesday but, advised of the situation while his horses were still in transit on the way home, he was able to send the Ayr runners to an isolation yard 15 miles away from his main stable.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) confirmed on Thursday that racing will continue in the country but that British-trained horses cannot be entered for Irish races until further notice.

A joint-statement from IHRB and Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) read, “The BHA’s rapid communication last night enabled the IHRB to contact and advise those trainers who had runners at Ayr and Ludlow yesterday to take appropriate steps to isolate the horses before they returned into their yards and so minimize the potential risk of further spread of the disease in Ireland. We have been aware of a small number of isolated cases of equine influenza in Ireland over the last couple of weeks as per our advice issued on 19 January.  As an interim precaution, the IHRB and HRI have decided that runners from Britain will not be permitted to run in Ireland in an effort to reduce the risk of further spread of the disease via horse movement. Horses will continue to be able to race across the north and south of the island of Ireland.”

Fergal O’Brien, who saddled three horses at Ludlow on Wednesday, is taking extra precautions at his stables in Naunton, Gloucestershire. He said, “I normally don’t take the horses’ temperatures unless I am worried about one of them but at the moment we are taking temperatures morning and night and will do so for the next week. All our horses will be required to have nasal swabs tomorrow so that we comply with the BHA rules. I share the gallops with Nigel Twiston-Davies and we have been advised to keep our horses 100 metres apart for now, or to use the gallops at different times.”

With the covering season set to start from the end of next week, the breeding industry will naturally be hoping that a more widespread outbreak can be averted. Tweenhills was among a number of studs to announce on Thursday that it will only accept mares to its stallions who have been vaccinated against EI within the last six months.

An advisory note on the stud’s website read, “On veterinary advice we are now insisting that all mares visiting Tweenhills have received an Equine Influenza booster vaccine within six months of proposed arrival at the stud. This includes walk-in mares as well as those boarding at the farm and passports will be checked before mares are allowed to disembark.”

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association also issued advice to its members which read, “There are no reports of Equine Influenza on breeding premises to date, however, with multiple reports of EI infection in vaccinated and unvaccinated horses in our European neighbours and in the UK, it is clear that there is now a risk of a significant UK EI epidemic developing, involving all types of horses and ponies.

“Whilst infection is being seen in EI-vaccinated horses, veterinary advice is clear that vaccination remains essential for disease mitigation as vaccination reduces the severity of clinical signs and decreases the time to recovery, thereby reducing viral shedding and reducing the risk for spread of infection. Young foals are most at risk from this disease.”

In 2007, the Australian racing industry suffered major disruption through the temporary shutdown of thousands of equine properties, including a two-month quarantine of Randwick racecourse, following an EI outbreak which was traced to four Japanese stallions at a quarantine station in New South Wales. Racing and all horse movement was cancelled nationwide for three days.

For a number of British owners and trainers, as well as their counterparts in Ireland, an immediate concern will be whether racing will resume in time to allow as little disruption as possible to runners destined for the Cheltenham Festival, which begins on March 12. The abandonment of Newbury’s fixture on Saturday has already dealt a blow to the connections of a number of horses entered for key lead-up races at the meeting.

 

 

 

 

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