Past outbreaks of the virus were usually linked with the cooler months.

Local veterinarian David Searle from Illawarra Equine Centre said while this was the case, the chance of a case occurring on the South Coast is extremely low.

“There’s never been a recorded case south of Kempsey so it’s been isolated to areas of Queensland and the north-east corner of NSW,” he said.

“If you sample the bat population in this areas a high percentage – 70 per cent, depending on what study you look at – shows bats in this area carry the Hendra virus. 

“No one knows what causes Hendra to occur, so we are missing something. The scientists are missing the causal link that allows the Hendra virus to be transferred from bats to horses.”

Dr Searle said he was not aware of any veterinarian in the area refusing treatment of unvaccinated horses.

“I’m not about to stop seeing horses that aren’t vaccinated,” he said.

“We take precautions, we carry all the equipment. We have in our car what we call a Hendra kit and if a horse presents with signs that fit the Hendra window we wear protective equipment. 

“We carry protective equipment for the owners. We sample the horses appropriately. We send those samples away and follow due procedure.”

Dr Searle said the drug company Zoetis was not pushing for compulsory vaccination however it had been discussed.

“There’s certainly discussion about it, absolutely,” he said.

“Hendra vaccination is another way we can minimise risk of the death of a horse. 

“I’m not going to say there are no complications. Everything you administer, every drug in my car, has a risk and Hendra has a risk.”

Dr Searle said while side-effects are noted by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), they are not unlike side-effects from a tetanus shot in humans.

“The APVMA have been satisfied with the degree of side-effects. So it’s ticked those boxes and also it’s very efficacious. Any owner and veterinarian who finds a reaction is required to report it,” he said.

“When the Hendra virus was occurring and starting to get a roll on in terms of more cases occurring, there was a huge outcry from the horse community to develop a vaccine. Zoetis, in conjunction with the Australian government, has developed one.

“There’s a process any drug goes through to be fully registered, there are several hoops they have to jump through and my understanding with this vaccine it’s been given what they call a minor permit, so it hasn’t jumped through all of the final hoops.”

Dr Searle said research into the vaccine’s longevity was the main issue.

“The current protocol is initial vaccination, a booster three to six weeks after the first and then every six months after that,” he said.

“They know it’s safe as far as complication rates. They are talking about a side-effect rate of 0.3 per cent and 80 per cent of those reactions are local reactions, so you get a sore neck where it was injected.

“Now, if you were getting at the seven horse deaths that have been possibly related … Zoetis has put the vaccine as highly unlikely to be associated and I think the AVPMA has worded it as a possibility.

“So to say seven horses have died from Hendra vaccination reaction from my understanding is a long shot. It’s certainly not set in concrete.”

Dr Searle said local horse owners should speak to their veterinarian and decide for themselves if they should vaccinate.

“I think everyone has to make their own mind up and ask themselves the questions like ‘Have I got fruit bats in the trees at my house?’, ‘Do my horses travel up the north coast for events?’, think about that there are possible side-effects like any vaccination and then there is a cost of it as well,” he said.

“There is no virus in the vaccine. It only gives one protein which blocks the receptor that causes [the virus cells] to bind on the blood vessels. 

“It’s not a live vaccine, it’s what they call a sub-unit vaccine, which is not a common type of vaccine, but it is certainly a way vaccines are made.”