The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) is warning horse owners to take precautions against hendra virus as the season for the infection approaches.

Barry Smyth, BVSc, FACVSc, Dipl. ACVS, AVA president, said that with hendra cases on the rise, particularly in the eastern states of New South Wales and Queensland, anyone working with horses should take caution around any sick horse.

"Our knowledge of how the hendra virus is spread is still limited, and it is difficult to predict what effect the recent wet weather will have," Smyth said. "We do know that the hendra virus is present in all flying fox populations and that the virus can shed at particular times with the fluid secretion of the flying fox including from saliva and urine."

"Horse owners should take caution around places flying foxes congregate and move horses and their food and water away from contaminated areas, particularly under trees, where high concentrations of virus material are deposited from bats; these are high risk areas for horses," Smyth continued. "People should also take precautions around horses with suspected signs of Hendra virus