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Queensland researchers expect to produce a human treatment for the deadly Hendra virus within six months.
Scientists have started work on monoclonal antibody treatments — pure human equivalents of the highly experimental therapy given to Sunshine Coast woman Rebecca Day and her 12-year-old daughter Mollie in May.
The pair chose to take the US-made treatment, designed for trial on ferrets and monkeys, after being exposed to the Hendra virus through a pet horse. The virus is transmitted from bats to horses, and on to humans.
Four people have died from the virus out of the seven who have tested positive.
Queensland Health chief medical officer Jeannette Young said the new treatment would be preferable to the US-made antibody therapy.
“It wasn’t produced under the conditions that we would normally want a human therapy to be produced under,” she said.
“It’s not an alternative to prevention. The best way is (for people) to protect themselves from horses.”
University of Queensland professor Paul Gray said researchers had acquired the cell line from the US and were working to make 99.995 per cent pure human antibodies. “We will get a preparation that is world-standard in respect to purity,” Professor Gray said.
“We’re working up a process so we can make large amounts in the future, if we needed it.”
Horse owners in South East NSW are being urged to step up their bio-security measures to protect animals from two serious diseases.
Strangles disease has now been confirmed on a number of properties in the Illawarra, and people are being asked to vaccinate their horses.
A warning has also been issued about Hendra virus, which is spread by flying foxes and killed a horse in Queensland last month.
Animal bio-security specialist, Belinda Walker, says although the Hendra case was well away from the South East, there is still cause for concern.
“One sort of worrying trend is the fact that the Grey Headed Flying Fox, which is one of the foxes that carries the virus, has now been recorded as far around the coast as Adelaide,” she said.
“It’s not really clear whether they’ve actually cut across country to get to Adelaide, or whether they’ve gone around via the coast and via Melbourne.”
Ms Walker says precautions should be taken now.
“It makes sense for anybody who competes with horses and has them moving from competition, from show to show, that they do get their horses adequately vaccinated,” she said.
“Particularly in the face of an outbreak like this where it does seem to have taken off, to some extent, more than normal.”
The Sunshine Coast property at the centre of a Hendra virus outbreak has been given the all clear.
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A horse was put down at the Tewantin property on 17 May 2010 after being diagnosed with the virus.
A final round of samples from the remaining horse on the property tested negative for the virus on Wednesday.
Biosecurity Queensland Chief Veterinary Officer Ron Glanville says quarantine and movement restrictions imposed on the property have now been lifted.
“This means the owners can return to their everyday activities and it is also good news for the community and the Biosecurity Queensland team who worked on the response,” he said.
Twelve people who were exposed to the sick horse are still awaiting the all clear but initial tests have shown no sign of the virus which is deadly to humans.
A mother and daughter considered most at risk of contracting the deadly Hendra virus after exposure to an infected horse have opted to receive an experimental drug.
Rebecca Day and her daughter Mollie, 12, were exposed to the virus from their horse which was put down on their Sunshine Coast property at Tewantin 10 days ago.
Queensland Health says they are at a “real risk” of developing the disease.
Authorities believe the drug may reduce the chances of the pair developing the life-threatening infection. The state’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, says time is of the essence, as the drug must be given before symptoms start to appear.
The experimental drug has not undergone human trials, but had been shown to prevent Hendra infection in ferrets and monkeys. It is the same drug tried in an effort to save the life of Rockhampton vet Alister Rodgers in 2009. However, Dr Rodgers was already in a coma and experts believe the drug is best given before symptoms develop.
In all, 12 people are undergoing testing for the disease, which will continue for six weeks.
None of the other 10 people potentially exposed has been offered the experimental drug, as their exposure to the horse was limited and they are not considered high risk.
Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries has updated a number of items on it’s Hendra virus webpage following the latest outbreak in Tewantin. The page includes items such as factsheets on the virus and guidelines for holding equestrian events.
As previously reported, a horse on the Sunshine Coast diagnosed with the hendra virus was euthanised last week.
Initial tests have cleared six people who may have been exposed to the deadly hendra virus on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, while others are still waiting for results. All will needed to be tested again in about three weeks.
Initial test results for the remaining horse on the quarantined property at Tewantin have also come back negative. The horse will remain under quarantine until the incubation period has passed and all tests have returned negative.
Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin announced that the Queensland and Federal Governments would each provide $300,000 for a trial of an already developed vaccine. The $600,000 would take research to the next level and look at how the vaccine works in horses.
The funding was announced after families and horse owners affected by the virus said they’d resorted to raffles and fundraisers to raise the money.
But the Minister warned years of work on the vaccine remain ahead, and the community must continue to be vigilant against the disease.
So far there have been 14 outbreaks of the Hendra virus in Australia, killing more than 40 horses and causing four human deaths, all in Queensland.
Biosecurity Queensland is responding to the confirmed report of a Hendra virus case in a horse on the Sunshine Coast.
The Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) has confirmed a positive PCR test result to Hendra virus in an EDTA blood sample taken from the horse by a private veterinarian.
The horse was examined by the veterinarian after the owner reported it was displaying acute onset of neurological signs. The horse was reported as being uncoordinated, demonstrating mouth twitching and being off its food.
Upon veterinary investigation, the horse exhibited normal respiratory and heart rates. The horse was found to be blind. The neurological signs progressed to seizures, the horse was humanely euthanased and buried on the property.
One horse remains on the property and has been subject to sampling by a Biosecurity Queensland veterinary officer this afternoon. The horse is reported as clinically normal.
The property is in quarantine and no horse movements are recorded recently.
A community engagement program has been commenced to advise neighbours of the situation and to provide relevant information.
The most recent version of the ‘What is Hendra virus’ brochure is available at the website: www.biosecurity.qld.gov.au.
Horse owners are urged to review their biosecurity procedures and contact their veterinarian if they suspect Hendra virus.
The NSW Department of Industry and Investment (Primary Industries) believes that it is important for people who come in contact with horses to be aware of the potential risks posed to them by Hendra virus. This will enable them to assess the risk that contact with horses poses to them, in their own situation.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE HORSE INDUSTRY: HENDRA VIRUSÂ
It is important that all sectors of the horse industry understand the risks posed by Hendra virus. Hendra virus is carried by fruit bats, and may cause fever, respiratory and/or nervous illness when it infects horses. While horses rarely become infected, infected horses may infect humans, and the disease has severe consequences. It is usually fatal in horses, and four of the seven people known to have become infected have died, despite intensive therapy in hospital.
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Minimise the risk to yourself and your horse by:
preventing horses from eating or drinking feed or water that may be contaminated by body fluids from fruit bats roosting, feeding or flying overhead and
knowing the signs of Hendra and what to do if you suspect infection.
The following links provide information on Hendra virus that will assist you to understand the disease and how to minimise the risk of infection. I&I NSW strongly recommends that you pass this information on to your members and industry contacts and/or staff who may handle horses.
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A Primefact on Hendra virus is available on the NSW DPI website at
The five remaining properties involved in the recent Hendra virus incidents at Cawarral and Bowen in central Queensland have been given the all clear with test results finalised.
These properties can now return to normal activities with no more quarantine measures in place, or any restrictions on horse movements to and from their properties.
Biosecurity Queensland has advised it will continue to work with the Australian Animal Health Laboratories, the peak veterinary bodies, key stakeholders to the Queensland horse industry and other research institutions to learn more about the virus so it can be better prevented and managed in the future.
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