VETS and horse owners will be protected under new recommendations regarding the use of the Hendra virus vaccine based on recommendations of the Parliamentary Agriculture and Environment Committee.
Tony Perrett (LNP Gympie), who is the deputy chair of the committee, said the report made 11 recommendations to improve the safety of anyone who had interaction with horses especially veterinarians and horse owners.
“While the committee supports vaccinating horses as the most comprehensive and safe way to prevent the spread of the virus from horses to humans, it investigated a broad range of issues from the original development and trial of the vaccine, adverse reactions in horses and the practices of veterinarians to economic and workplace health and safety issues,” Mr Perrett said.
CLICK HERE to read the Hendra virus EquiVacc vaccine and its use by veterinary surgeons in Queensland, which was released on Friday.
Mr Perrett said the final determination of whether the government implements all or some of the recommendations was up Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson.
“The committee tried to take the emotion and heat out of the debate and develop a series of measures which will protect treating vets and staff, horse owners and the horses themselves,” Mr Perrett said.
“We have taken a common sense approach to an emotive situation with horse owners feeling pressured and treating vets concerned about the welfare of the animals while at the same time keeping themselves and their staff as safe as possible.
“We have done this while acknowledging that the most successful and comprehensive way to prevent the spread of the disease from horse to humans is through vaccinations.
“The committee has recommended that workplace health and safety legislation be amended so that veterinarians are not responsible for creating a safe workplace for any person other than their staff and themselves when treating a horse suspected of being, or know to be, infected with Hendra virus.
“As well as being responsible for their staff they were previously also liable for the horse owner even if they had chosen to not vaccinate their animal.”
Mr Perrett said under the recommendations vaccinations for horses would not be mandatory but left to the discretion of equestrian event organisers to require as a condition of entry and for horse owners to decide based on risk.
“The committee has also recommended that the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries support the development of a rapid stall-side test as a further aid to check the Hendra virus status of horses in the field, and determine whether a rapid stall-side test could negate the need for HeV exclusion testing,” Mr Perrett said.
“Other recommendations from the committee include: improving timeframes for exclusion testing; temperature indicators for vaccine packs, advising owners of vaccine information and ‘off label’ risks; raising awareness of processes for self-reporting adverse reactions to the Hendra vaccine; revision of biosecurity Queensland guidelines, workplace health and safety guidelines for both low risk and high risk treatments, equine industry representatives on the Hendra working group and promoting vaccination of horses.
“The report is wide-ranging and now it is up to the government to implement a framework which we believe will go a long way to ensuring the safety of everyone involved in the horse industry.”