Hendra virus horse death resurfaces in Australia
02 Jul 2011
In Australia, a north coast property in New South Wales has been quarantined after a horse contracted the deadly Hendra virus which killed four people in Australia.
The 16-year-old horse was put down at 1:00 am on Thursday and buried immediately.
This is the second instance of the virus which is passed on to horses from flying foxes, being found in NSW.
According to NSW health director of health protection Dr Jeremy McAnulty, nine people that had come in close contact with the horse on the Wollongbar property were being monitored for infection.
According to the chief veterinary officer of the state Ian Roth, the virus could be passed to humans from horses and could be fatal.
The horse took ill on the property on Tuesday and a local vet called but the condition of the animal continued to worsen the next day.
