http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/2013/05/17/16/05/qld-horse-contracts-bat-lyssavirus
A horse in southwest Queensland has been confirmed as the first to contract the rare bat-borne lyssavirus.
The horse was euthanased on May 11 after displaying symptoms similar to those associated with the Hendra virus, which is known to affect horses through bat droppings.
But tests returned late on Friday indicate it was in fact infected with contracted the deadly Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL), previously thought to affect only bats and humans.
Another horse on the property, in Queensland’s Southern Darling Downs region, had died five days earlier after displaying similar symptoms, but its illness hasn’t yet been identified.
Another 20 horses on the property have been quarantined and will be tested.
Six people who were in contact with the horse will be offered preventative treatments but haven’t been quarantined.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young says there is no evidence to suggest the virus can spread from horses to humans, but it is theoretically possible.
She said it was likely the horse had been bitten or scratched by a microbat.
Dr Young said people in the region should take the same precautions as for Hendra virus, by steering clear of sick horses and calling a vet immediately if symptoms are recognised.
Chief biosecurity officer Jim Thompson said the horse was tested for ABL only after it tested negative to Hendra.
“All these cases are very concerning in terms of what may be the reason for them happening,” he told reporters.
“Obviously we’ve had a lot more cases of Hendra virus (in horses) in recent years and lyssavirus is one that we’ve known about for quite some time.”
More testing would be required to determine how the horse contracted the virus, whether other animals could be infected and whether the virus could then be passed on to humans, he said.
The rare disease has only ever infected three people in Australia – all in Queensland.
All three succumbed to the virus, which causes fatal encephalitis, or swelling of the brain.
The latest death occurred in Brisbane in February after an eight-year-old boy was scratched by a bat in Cairns in far north Queensland in December last year.