Stud workers await Hendra virus tests

Queensland horse stud workers are continuing their wait for test results following the death of a filly from Hendra virus, as horses as far away as NSW are also examined.

Tests have confirmed a prized Anglo filly from J4S Equine Nursery at Cawarral, east of Rockhampton, died from Hendra virus on Saturday, with two other recent horse deaths on the property also attributed to the virus.

Twenty-three horses quarantined on the central Queensland property and a neighbouring one are being tested, as well as 11 horses that left J4S in the three weeks before July 28, when the first horse died from suspected Hendra virus.

One horse had been traced to a NSW property, while others have been traced to properties on the Darling Downs, Sunshine Coast hinterland and central Queensland.

Horses identified with the virus will be destroyed.

Meanwhile, 13 people are awaiting results of their tests.

But the initial testing will not necessarily confirm Hendra virus infection.

The results will instead establish a baseline for comparison when further testing is carried out within two to three weeks.

Queensland Health says it will remain in close contact with those people during the process.

The virus is a serious but rare disease which is believed to be transferred from bats to horses.

Horses can pass on the virus to humans, but health authorities say there is no record of human-to-human transmission.

A Hendra outbreak in August last year killed Brisbane vet Ben Cunneen, the first person in Australia to die of the disease in 10 years.