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Twenty years of Hendra virus: laboratory submission trends and risk factors for infection in horses

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Smith, C. S., McLaughlin, A., Field, H. E., Edson, D., Mayer, D. G., Ossedryver, S. M., Barrett, J. L. and Waltisbuhl, D. (2016) Twenty years of Hendra virus: laboratory submission trends and risk factors for infection in horses. Epidemiology & Infection, 144 (15). pp. 292-295. ISSN 1469-4409

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268816001400

Publisher URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/article_S0950268816001400

Abstract

Hendra virus (HeV) was first described in 1994 in an outbreak of acute and highly lethal disease in horses and humans in Australia. Equine cases continue to be diagnosed periodically, yet the predisposing factors for infection remain unclear. We undertook an analysis of equine submissions tested for HeV by the Queensland government veterinary reference laboratory over a 20-year period to identify and investigate any patterns. We found a marked increase in testing from July 2008, primarily reflecting a broadening of the HeV clinical case definition. Peaks in submissions for testing, and visitations to the Government HeV website, were associated with reported equine incidents. Significantly differing between-year HeV detection rates in north and south Queensland suggest a fundamental difference in risk exposure between the two regions. The statistical association between HeV detection and stockhorse type may suggest that husbandry is a more important risk determinant than breed per se. The detection of HeV in horses with neither neurological nor respiratory signs poses a risk management challenge for attending veterinarians and laboratory staff, reinforcing animal health authority recommendations that appropriate risk management strategies be employed for all sick horses, and by anyone handling sick horses or associated biological samples.

Item Type:Article
Business groups:Biosecurity Queensland
Keywords:Equine, Hendra virus, henipavirus, laboratory submissions, zoonosis
Subjects:Veterinary medicine > Veterinary virology
Veterinary medicine > Veterinary epidemiology. Epizootiology
Veterinary medicine > Communicable diseases of animals (General)
Live Archive:06 Jul 2016 05:47
Last Modified:18 Oct 2024 06:20

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