Wednesday’s confirmation of an outbreak of African horse sickness in the Western Cape could deal yet another blow to racing and its allied industries, a specialist said on Wednesday.
Diana Husselmann, a spokesperson for Thoroughbred in South Africa, a quarterly magazine concerned with horse breeding and racing, said the outbreak was following hot on the heels of a recent epidemic of equine flu which had devastated the horse racing industry in South Africa.
”The ramifications of African horse sickness could be more serious than the equine flu was,” she said.
Referring to the flu epidemic which had put a stop to horse racing and other equestrian events for nine weeks she said: ”No one can quantify the losses of that in terms of turnover, to part-time workers, grooms, the tote and exports.”
As far as the consequences of the current outbreak was concerned she said: ”It could have drastic implications for not only the export of horses from South Africa but for racing itself.”
Johan Gelderblom, MEC for agriculture, environmental affairs and development planning in the Western Cape said in a media statement the outbreak had occurred at the Elsenburg Agricultural College and was confirmed on Wednesday by the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute and Equine Research Centre in Pretoria following the deaths of four horses at the weekend.
Gelderblom said African horse sickness was transmitted by midges and had the potential to spread very rapidly. He said an intensive investigation was under way to find the source of the infection.
He said vets would immediately start vaccinating horses within a 20km radius of the outbreak and suggested owners take all possible measures to prevent their animals from becoming infected.
Gelderblom said: ”These measures will serve to limit the spread of the disease. A similar outbreak in the area in 1999 resulted in the loss of the African-horse-sickness-free status of the Western Cape. The embargo on the export of horses to the European Union as result of the outbreak was enforced for a period of two years resulting in a substantial loss in foreign income for the racing industry in South Africa.”
He said the European Commission had already been informed of the outbreak of the disease.
”The further status of the free-zone and the possible institution of export embargoes will be dependent on the extent and the severity of the outbreak,” he said.
Husselmann warned that two of South Africa’s most prestigious races, the J&B Met and the Queen’s Plate could be affected by resurgence of African horse sickness. – Sapa