{"id":316491,"date":"2022-04-15T15:08:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T05:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=316491"},"modified":"2025-02-26T15:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T05:22:06","slug":"horse-pig-owners-told-stay-vigilant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/04\/15\/horse-pig-owners-told-stay-vigilant\/","title":{"rendered":"Horse, Pig Owners Told: Stay Vigilant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Department of Agriculture is suggesting horse owners take precautions to protect their animals from JEV infections (Photo: DAWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 15, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

State and Federal biosecurity authorities are alerting pig and horse owners to continue being vigilant for Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV).<\/p>\n

The virus is spread by mosquitoes and can infect people and animals.<\/p>\n

Three people have died so far this year in Australia from the virus and there are more than 60 piggeries with infected herds across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To date there have been no official reports of the disease in horses, but the threat remains while mosquito numbers are high due to recent rain and flooding.<\/p>\n

Australian Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Schipp said governments and industry were working together to contain the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best course of action is to try and avoid mosquito bites to yourself and your animals,\u201d Dr Schipp said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd part of that means reducing mosquito infestations. We have developed a guide on how to control mosquitoes around piggeries and we are currently developing a similar guide that can be used for horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key things to help prevent mosquito bites on horses is to put a hooded rug on them, a fly mask and apply an insect repellent. Stabling horses overnight can also help.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The disease causes encephalitis (brain swelling) in horses.<\/p>\n

In pigs it results in production losses including abortions and stillbirths, and infertility in adult pigs.<\/p>\n

Japanese encephalitis is a nationally notifiable disease which means it must be reported to a veterinarian or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800-675-888.<\/p>\n

Footnote:<\/strong> Pork and all pork products are safe to consume.<\/p>\n