WE learned lots about equine influenza this week. We learned that it is a respiratory infection that affects horses in much the same way as flu affects humans, for example. We learned that symptoms include a high fever, nasal discharge and coughing. We learned that, while symptoms in vaccinated horses are usually mild, it is highly contagious, and horses can remain infectious for about a week. And we learned that, while the disease is rarely fatal, performance can be affected for days or weeks, and that some horses can develop secondary bacterial infections.

CONTAINED

There are positives. The BHA’s swift response means that there is a good chance that the disease can be contained. The swift dissemination of information, the cancellation of racing for six days at least. From an Irish perspective, it meant that trainers who had runners at Ayr and Ludlow, facilitated by the extended travel time, could segregate those runners from the rest of their strings. The IHRB and HRI were satisfied that racing could continue in Ireland, and that those trainers could have runners.

There is a togetherness about it all. Everybody complying with directives, for the greater good, to ensure that racing in Britain can resume as soon as possible. Everyone working together towards that goal.

And there is the fact that the horror story of Australia in 2007, when equine influenza closed racing down for months, is unlikely to be repeated in Britain, simply because horses are not vaccinated against influenza in Australia, whereas they are in Britain and Ireland. That’s a positive too.