WHILE many people in the horse industry have never experienced a real outbreak of equine flu, vaccination remains key to keeping this contagious disease at bay. Indeed the importance of continued vaccination has been demonstrated recently by a series of outbreaks across Ireland and Britain. All of these outbreaks have so far been in unvaccinated or horses with lapsed vaccination.

Equine flu is a serious issue for anyone owning or working with horses. It is an acute or ‘hit and run’ virus infection, is very contagious and can be spread by droplets in the air, or on inanimate objects such as horseboxes/stabling, tack and clothing.