Journal article

Australian horse owners and their biosecurity practices in the context of Hendra virus

AK Wiethoelter, N Schembri, NK Dhand, K Sawford, MR Taylor, B Moloney, T Wright, N Kung, HE Field, JALML Toribio

Preventive Veterinary Medicine | ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV | Published : 2017

Abstract

In recent years, outbreaks of exotic as well as newly emerging infectious diseases have highlighted the importance of biosecurity for the Australian horse industry. As the first potentially fatal zoonosis transmissible from horses to humans in Australia, Hendra virus has emphasised the need to incorporate sound hygiene and general biosecurity practices into day-to-day horse management. Recommended measures are widely publicised, but implementation is at the discretion of the individual owner. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine current levels of biosecurity of horse owners and to identify factors influencing the uptake of practices utilising data from an online survey. Level of bio..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the horse owners who participated in the HHALTER study for their time and cooperation. Western Sydney University was contracted by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation to undertake this research. This study was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia, the State of New South Wales and the State of Queensland under the National Hendra Virus Research Program.