TWO years ago the death of a horse in Macskville saw the Nambucca Valley touched by the Hendra (HeV) virus.
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During that outbreak, authorities also saw the first NSW case of the infection in a pet dog, which had close contact with an infected horse.
Testing confirmed infection and the dog was euthanased.
The owners were not infected.
Following lengthy analysis of the outbreak, NSW authorities have now introduced strict quarantine measures for all companion animals during any future outbreaks.
In a paper published in the journal of Public Health Research and Practice, Dr Sherly Halim, now a Public Health Registrar with the Department of Community Paediatrics at South Western Sydney Local Health District, said the incident in NSW highlighted two things:
* that pets on Hendra-affected properties were a potential infection risk to humans
* and there were possible gaps in the existing HeV risk assessment and risk management procedures.
“To address these gaps, we worked collaboratively with the NSW Department of Primary Industries to amend quarantine requirements for companion animals during a HeV outbreak,” Dr Halim said.
Under the upgraded quarantine requirements, any companion animals that have been potentially exposed to HeV from a sick horse or a confirmed case must be isolated.
Dogs for example, must be held in a secure yard or tied up, and cats confined to a cage or a secure area such as a garage or shed.
Only a limited number of adults should have contact with the quarantined animal and only for the purposes of feeding or performing other tasks essential to the animal’s welfare.
The requirements also specify that strict personal protective equipment must be worn.
In response to the case, NSW Health has also developed a tool to assess risk for people with potentially infected pets.
This includes assessing the frequency and type of contact between owner and pet, how often owners wash their hands after dealing with animal waste and whether the pet has licked their face.