Approved!

The Kholo-Lake M cluster of EI uninfected horses APPROVED! Apart from a few nearest to the most recent IP at the end of the Lake M Valley. I will post the email sent to all below:

Hi everyone,

I just have had word that vaccine is approved for most of the Kholo-Lake M EI free group. All on the list have been approved this round except for those in relative close proximity to the infected IPs on Shepherds Rd. Those unable to be vaccinated this round include the remaining uninfected Steel Poppy horses, Norm & Mavis Kelly, Megan Kelly and Dennis Farry’s Lake horses. I fully expect these horses to go through on the next submission as the IPs out Shepherds Rd are resolved which would nearly the case by the time the vaccines are picked up, i.e. horses on Steel Poppy are out of their 30 day quarantine.

The horses on or near Skyline Drive were approved. It would appear that there has been very limited infection (only Tegan’s? ) on Skyline Drive. So yes, Don – yours are okay, so are Faye’s on Skyline and the rest of the list down the eastern side of Kholo Rd and those on Lake M Rd adjacent to Kholo Rd including Ablett’s, Crombie’s, Lenske’s, Taylor/Murphy/Simpson, Hansen’s, Ballantyne’s, Lupton’s, Kunde’s, Forrester/Smith, Halcrow’s and Sim’s.

I am still organising a decontamination kit at this point. So I will look at organising a vacc program starting early next week. So give it some thought about which days you would be able to arrange to be available. Remembering that infection isn’t such a pressing issue, so it won’t make any real difference if you are vaccinated early in the week or later, though I appreciate everyone would like to be done asap. I will contact everyone to arrange a time shortly. Email or phone me if you don’t hear from me over the weekend.

Note to Jan Rohweder your horses (and those on same property) missed the first block to be submitted, so they will go in the next submission which will be sent early next week. Whether or not they are approved will depend on their proximity to the nearest IP and how aged that IP is – I’m not sure that they will look at the topography/natural features, as if this were the case only the horses at the end of Lake M road would have missed out this time on the original submission.

The other vets in the Anstead area are having trouble getting horses approved b/c of the high density of horses, though it will happen as the IPs age and resolve. Faye this is the reason that Phil Rothwell’s horse would have been rejected first submission as well.

They are using our block of horses with its “natural topographical” EI barriers as a part of a strategic buffer zone of sorts to divide up the inner red zone. At least that’s the impression I was given by the presentation of the Vaccine Programme Manager at the meeting last night. I will attach the original document I sent with the K-LM details FYI.

I believe that once we have our horses seroconverted – vaccinated (probably 2 weeks after the 2nd vax) then we hopefully might expect local movement to be a possibility around the end of December -January – don’t hold your breath b/c it may well coincide with Christmas. By local movement I am referring to perhaps riding in the BFP/and BCC land once again/roads hereabouts. Trail ride down at the lake.....sort of thing. But they still have to work out how that can be managed. Hopefully if everything continues to go well the movement restrictions will gradually lessen. Some events may be a possibility early in the year & by June 2008 we might be back to normal. Don’t despair. We just have to sit tight with biosecurity and work out ways to amuse ourselves in the meantime. The real danger of imminent infection has passed in this area but we shouldn’t become complacent as regards being careful when we leave and return to the property.

The movement of PPHI horses for breeding that haven’t been vaccinated continues to be a problem but once the IPs around about have been resolved it should become less so. The Minden-Rosewood – Brisbane Valley area hereabouts and West Brisbane are looking very promising in this regard. We’re actually in a pretty good position if the infection continues to age and limited new infections are recorded.

The real hot spots that are the concern at this stage are roundabout the GC hinterland and north of Brisbane where there is quite alot of strategic vax to assist vac suppression – working around Samford. A bit of problem more northward around the Caboolture area (which I believe they are using vax suppression with as well) and a suspected infection (not good) at Buderim b/c it is bw inner and outer buffer zones – but they will also would work to vax suppress that if it is a true positive.

Regards to all

Jo HBranigan