Philracom monitors Hendra virus

MANILA, Philippines - The risk of horses infected with the Hendra virus being imported from Australia into the Philippines is low, according to an Australian shipping agent familiar with that country’s biosecurity measures.

Cameron Croucher said in an email addressed to the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry assistant director veterinarian Victor Atienza that “there is an extremely low risk of infected horses traveling to the Philippines.”

Hendra, according to Croucher, is a contagious disease that affects horses and humans; however, “there [have] been very few cases of Hendra virus that [have] been discovered…the risk to the Philippines receiving a horse that is positive to Hendra is so low that it is likely to never occur.”

Two cases of Hendra were recently confirmed in Australia, according to the BAI.

The Philippine Racing Commission, led by its chairman Andrew Sanchez, is carefully monitoring the situation.

“We take the health of our horse population very seriously,” said Sanchez, “and we are ready to halt importation activities if necessary,” under Philracom’s powers as the government agency tasked with supervising and regulating horseracing and breeding.

Australia is one of the country’s top sources of Thoroughbred runners and bloodstock, along with New Zealand and the United States. The horses are employed for various sports including racing, riding, polo and equestrian, as well as for breeding purposes.

Philracom will continue to register horses imported from Australia that arrived in the Philippines prior to the confirmation of the Hendra virus there, and upon certification by official Australian government veterinarians of permission to export, as well as compliance with existing import conditions of the horses’ health status.