The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries stated on Aug. 30 that a Thoroughbred tested positive for equine influenza at Randwich Racecourse. Initial tests at Elizabeth Macarthur Laboratories in Menagle have detected influenza type A.

Additional samples from the horse are being tested at Menangle, and a sample was sent to the Australian Animal Health Laboratories (AAHL) in Geelong for additional confirmation.

“There are some preliminary data on the strain of influenza in the outbreak here in Australia,” said Dr James Gilkerson, President, Equine Veterinarians Australia, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Microbiology, Head of the Equine Infectious Disease Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne. “It has been announced that the strain from the horses in the quarantine station is the same as that in horses that tested positive in the wider horse population