Queensland scientists are reviewing hendra virus cases from previous years to better understand why some horses become infected and others don’t.

Biosecurity Queensland researcher Hume Field, BVSc, MSc, PhD, MACVS, said the common factor in most cases was horses resting under trees where flying foxes (a type of fruit bat) were active.

"On more than 80% of properties where there were hendra virus cases, horses ´camped´ under trees that flying foxes were feeding in," Field said. "This reinforces the importance of Biosecurity Queensland advice about stopping horse access to fruiting and flowering trees that may attract flying foxes."

Field said the Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases (QCEID) was in the process of analyzing the data from properties in Queensland and northern New South Wales where the cluster of hendra virus cases occurred in 2011 and 2012 to look for patterns