Horse flu hits Jhb

2003-12-15 18:12

Johannesburg - Racehorses in a barn at the Randjesfontein training centre north of Johannesburg have been diagnosed with equine flu.

Phumelela has abandoned the race meeting at Turffontein on Tuesday in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading to other training centres on the Highveld.

The horses will be moved and the barn disinfected in an attempt to prevent the virus from spreading.

The race meeting scheduled for Vaal on Thursday is set to go ahead at this stage, although Randjesfontein runners carded for the meeting will not participate.

A decision on whether Randjesfontein runners will be allowed to participate in the race meeting scheduled for Turffontein on Sunday, or whether the meeting will be cancelled, will be made in due course.

No Randjesfontein-based runners were accepted for the Bloemfontein meeting on Monday, December 22 at final declarations for the fixture on Tuesday.

It is likely that the Randjesfontein training centre will be placed under quarantine.

In the Eastern Cape the virus has spread from the training centre at Arlington to the Fairview training centre and the race meetings scheduled at Arlington on 19, 21 and 26 December have been cancelled.

Virtually all racehorses in Phumelela racing regions, with the exception of the Eastern Cape where the virus must run its course, have been vaccinated and the inoculation of racehorses in KwaZulu-Natal is currently under way.

The equine flu broke out in the training centre at Milnerton in Cape Town last week and later spread to the Arlington training centre in Port Elizabeth.

The movement of racehorses in and out of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern and Western Cape has been suspended.

- SAPA