Girl exposed to hendra virus

The Australian A 10-YEAR-OLD girl whose pet horse died of Hendra virus is among nine people tested for the lethal bat-borne disease yesterday as health officials urged horse owners to stay away from sick animals.

The CSIRO said yesterday it was seeking government funding to test a vaccine to protect horses against the virus, which has killed four people and 41 horses in 14 outbreaks over the past 16 years.

Biosecurity officers have quarantined a property at Tewantin, near Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, where a vet euthanased the dying gelding on Monday.

Preliminary blood tests have cleared six of the nine people exposed to the sick horse, while three are still waiting for results. But all nine will have to wait up to six weeks for an all-clear because of the long incubation period of the Hendra virus in humans.