Equine flu outbreak: Q&A

Sunday’s meeting at Plumpton was called off earlier this week as a “precautionary measure” by the British Horseracing Authority, after a strain of equine flu was confirmed in an unvaccinated non-thoroughbred at a livery yard adjacent to the East Sussex course. Here we look at some key questions:

What is equine flu?

Equine flu is an airborne virus and highly contagious. It is treated much the same as human flu, with rest and other medications for symptoms as needed. If one or two horses in a yard, or even several, are off colour then typically a trainer will isolate them and carry on business as usual. But the nature of the virus is such that any potential contact, on the racecourse, in stables or even in reasonable vicinity with an affected animal, presents an evident risk of spreading the infection.

What happened the last time there was a serious outbreak?

In February 2019 racing in Britain was brought to a halt for six days, with many yards across the country placed on lockdown in the biggest shutdown in racing since the misery of 2001, when the foot-and-mouth crisis caused the abandonment of the Cheltenham Festival. The BHA is therefore hoping the prompt action it has taken will prevent a costly and dispiriting long-term disruption, which in the case of the 2019 outbreak ran into tens of millions of pounds.

Are the lives of racehorses at risk?

It is a requirement that all racehorses be vaccinated against flu, as this is an important barrier preventing spread of the virus and will mitigate the impact. Animals most vulnerable to equine flu are – as with the human strain – the already sick, very young or very old. Few in professional racing yards fall into any of those categories.

Is there any risk to human health from the equine influenza virus?

There is no known human health risk associated with the virus.

Are any other horses showing signs of infection?

No, currently no other horses are showing any signs of infection but due to the close proximity of the yard to the racecourse, Plumpton was cancelled as a precautionary measure.

Is this a one-off case?

No, the BHA said this week “we have also seen a significant recent rise in the number of equine flu outbreaks across the country, in the non-thoroughbred herd”. So far, however, no other meetings have been affected.