are the horses that have this flu in mortal danger or do they just feel unwell same as humans?will there be lingering side effects once the horse has contracted this?i know the racing industry in panicking,guess they are losing lots of money while they cannot race.but will the horses fully recover?
2007-08-30 13:09:21 · 5 answers · asked by sunshine 3 in Travel ➔ Australia ➔ Other - Australia
Most of the horses will recover but influenza is a serious disease and can kill horses just as it can kill humans. There has been one horse dead so far from this outbreak. (Most people have never had flu. In Australia the common cold is usually referred to as "the flu" but it is an entirely different disease. You do not "just feel unwell" with the flu, you are seriously ill and can die. The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more people than the previous four years of world war and most were young people - teens and twenties.)
The worst possible scenario would be for the disease to get into the wild horse population. If that happened, the disease would then be impossible to contain and eliminate and Australia's horse breeding industry would collapse. No Australian horses would be allowed at overseas racetracks without long periods of quarantine first and no foreign horses would come here. New Zealand would probably insist that every visitor from Australia be sprayed with disinfectant before entering the country.
2007-08-30 13:38:49 · answer #1 · answered by tentofield 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
EI is a highly contagious flu that can be passed from human to horse without the human contracting the virus. This being the case, it is impossible to control as one trainer might go from one horse to another spreading the flu as he/she goes without realising.
The horse that died, was an old horse, just as humans can die if they are elderly or very young if they catch the human flu.
The Sydney Spring Carnival has been cancelled, which will have devastating consequences to many people as this is their only source of income. So far there has been no confirmed cases of EI in Victoria, and racing has recommenced.
2007-08-30 21:51:25 · answer #2 · answered by Suzieq 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Previously answered elsewhere - good answers too. See
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070826170447AAN7LX5
Some horses will die. Most recover well, but it can take some serious time for a thoroughbred to regain top performance.
Depends how ill they get. The money issue currently is that we are right at the beginning of the Spring racing season - the most lucrative time of year for everyone involved in the industry, and one of Australia's major racecourses has been shot down and all horses stabled there are under quarantine.
Bear in mind, this is not just a devastating blow to the wealthy. Thousands of ordinary people depend on this racing season to boost their meager income enough to get them through. Track riders, grooms, stable hands, strappers, casual bar & wait staff and many more people just struggling to survive are facing huge losses & much financial difficulty.
2007-08-30 13:41:59 · answer #3 · answered by Kella G 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't know that much about horses, but last night on the news, there has been ONE confirmed death of a horse from this flu .
2007-08-30 13:33:39 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
equine flu=no horse racing=no picking up the HOT HOT HOT HOT girls at the races
2007-08-30 19:25:38 · answer #5 · answered by sexc_n_h0rny_now 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋