A mare (or mares) imported from North America to Victoria, Australia, is believed to be at the center of the latest outbreak of equine herpes virus (EHV-1), or equine rhinopneumonitis virus, in Australia. 


As the Australian Thoroughbred breeding season officially got under way on Sept. 1, at least a dozen farms were quarantined. Most are in Victoria, but several in New South Wales have also been isolated. 


At the latest count there are 30 confirmed cases of mares aborting foals in the latter stages of pregnancy. Infected mares can abort within five months after conception, but the majority of cases occur from the eighth to the 11th month. The NSW incidents are believed to have occurred after the movement of mares from Victoria amid the general flurry of activity in July. 


Breeding authorities hope the spread has been contained by the tactics of 30-day quarantining and the awareness of breeders, which has resulted in a vast reduction in the movement of pregnant mares

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