An industry held to ransom by African Horse Sickness

n 1997, shortly after Hong Kong had agreed to follow Europe’s example by allowing direct imports from South Africa, Alec Laird travelled to Sha Tin Racecourse with his South African-bred London The burgeoning South African thoroughbred industry is currently being held back by crippling quarantine measures due to outbreaks of African Horse Sickness (AHS) in recent years. There’s hope that a new diagnostic test may change all that. The South African thoroughbred industry’s impact on the international stage snowballed remarkably quickly from that memorable starting point and presently finds itself in a state of nervous optimism as a new diagnostic test for African Horse Sickness (AHS) that returns a “yes” or “no” answer within hours of a sample being taken could open their borders like never before. There has been an explosion of talent among South African thoroughbreds recently and, harnessed by the world-renowned trainer Mike de Kock and others, they would add value to the international racing stage if allowed to realise their full potential. Since the momentous date on which the EU ratified the South African Horse Export Protocol in 1997, temporary suspensions on direct travel have been put in place following outbreaks of AHS in the AHS Controlled Area in the Western Cape in 1999, 2004, and 2011. Despite the seasonal characteristic of AHS (absence of infection during winter), “temporary” in these cases meant a two-year shutdown, and the eventual lifting of the suspensions has on occasion also seen some countries making rigorous changes to the previous export protocol. For example, after the 2004 outbreak, and with the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Dubai International Racing Carnival in mind, the entry conditions to both Hong Kong and Dubai were changed. They barred direct travel from South Africa and insisted that horses first spend 30 days in Europe, the EU having permitted direct entry after the suspension was lifted. Therefore, London News’ relatively straightforward excursion can be seen in contrast to the epic journey of the South African- bred J J the Jet Plane just over a decade later. The much loved “JJ,” trained by Lucky Houdalakis, began his travels on 1st August, 2010, when entering the AHS Free Zone in Cape Town for the compulsory 60 days pre- entry to Europe. He then spent the mandatory 30 days in the cold climes of the UK before arriving in Hong Kong in early December, less than two weeks before his target race, the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint. That he beat some of the world’s top sprinters like Rocket Man and Sacred Kingdom, and left many pondering what South African thoroughbreds could achieve if the playing fields were level. If the quarantine measures and travel restrictions J J the Jet Plane was subjected to were not bad enough, they are currently even worse. The last outbreak of AHS in South Africa’s AHS Controlled Area in late February 2011 saw exports from Kenilworth Quarantine Station in Cape Town being suspended. The alternative option for South Africa’s horse exports is via Mauritius which requires a 21-day isolation in Johannesburg followed by 90 days quarantine in Mauritius before undergoing a further residency of 30 or 60 days in the EU en route to Dubai or Hong Kong, meaning the journey could take upward of 150 days! The sport horse communities in other countries are probably oblivious to the barriers their South African counterparts face as their travel restrictions are a doddle in comparison. This is despite AHS arguably posing less threat than some diseases from other countries. South Africa accepts horses directly from one of its chief thoroughbred trading partners, Australia, yet Australia has never recognised South Africa’s horse export protocol. Their requirements are that South African horses spend an additional 60 days in Europe before entering Australia, making the journey time 120 days! The export protocol history goes back to an outbreak of AHS in the Middle East in the 1950s, by which time South Africa was thought to have exported 350,000 horses overseas largely in support of the war effort in the First and Second World Wars. The Middle East outbreak raised global fears of AHS and the international community deemed Africa to be endemic with a resultant embargo on the movement of horses out of Africa for the next four decades. The exception was the USA which accepted horses from Africa on the basis of a 60- day post-arrival vector-proof quarantine. Following a combined initiative of the broader equestrian industry, scientific, and veterinary sectors, the EU ratified the export protocol 14 years ago and South Africa has since exported close to 1000 horses from Kenilworth Quarantine Station in the AHS Free Zone in Cape Town. The value of South Africa’s horse exports is worth an estimated R250 million (£19-million, or €22-million) per annum in revenue, a fraction of the global market. However, the temporary suspensions of imports from South Africa every time there is an outbreak is clearly an unsatisfactory scenario and one that is presently impacting the international ambitions of South Africa’s horseracing fraternity and their 2012 London Olympic bid. A setback to negotiations is often found in the 1980s Spanish outbreak of AHS, as it proved that the disease was not confined to within African borders. In fact a recent study of emerging diseases predicted that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases like AHS are likely in the near future and that non-infected countries should be developing safeguards to defend against them. The quarantine restrictions South African horses are subject to are chiefly due to an inherent lack of logic and understanding of the real risk of introducing the AHS virus to another country. Given the nature of the disease and the layers of protection measures in place pre-export, the chances of passing AHS to another country are practically nil. AHS is a non-contagious virus transmitted by the culicoides midge. The midge can only breed above a certain temperature, so its activity is completely suppressed in the winter months and, therefore, there is a natural window which occurs every year during which the risk of infection is zero. During the summer months outbreaks occur annually (endemic) in the North Eastern Provinces, which are greater than 1000kms rom Cape Town, and unprotected horses affected have a high mortality rate. However, since 1960, only six outbreaks of AHS have occurred in the AHS Controlled Area in the Western Cape due to its hot, dry summer climate, its distance from the endemic areas, and geographical barriers including mountain ranges plus the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Furthermore, there has never been a case of AHS in South Africa’s AHS Free Zone, while Kenilworth Quarantine Station, from which all overseas-bound horses depart South Africa when direct travel is allowed, is a world leader in vector-protection. Additionally, the exciting recent development of the Real Time PCR test for AHS returns a “yes” or “no” answer within a couple of hours, instead of the less reliable current test that only returns a result after two samples are collected 21 days apart. The new test has been developed and is in the final stages of validation according to the OIE guidelines. A stipulation for the 2006 Hong Kong and Dubai export protocols to reinstate direct imports from Cape Town was that the diagnostic test be developed. On top of the new diagnostic test, the Equine Research Centre, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort, is developing a new vaccine based on recombinant technology, which will offer better protection to native horses and be inherently safe to use internationally. The initial trial has produced exciting results with proof of concept having been achieved. Four of the nine serotypes will have been trialled within the next 18 months. Mike de Kock reckons the chances of passing AHS to another country are around a billion to one and he is probably correct. De Kock, after winning his country’s most prestigious race, the Vodacom Durban July, for the fourth time with the Australian-imported filly Igugu in 2011, lambasted South Africa’s trading partners and said they should “hang their heads in shame.” He illustrated how ridiculous the export protocols pertaining to South African thoroughbreds are by comparing them to a South African sportsman being banned from playing overseas due to a risk of passing on AIDS. However, the scientific efforts being made from within South Africa are beginning to tell and it is likely that far-reaching changes to the AHS Code will be adopted at the 2012 OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) General Assembly, which will introduce the following principles: l Official OIE recognition of AHS; l South Africa to define own control measures; l Pre-export quarantine to be significantly reduced with agent identification testing (RT PCR); If, in the case of an outbreak, a containment zone is accepted by the OIE, it will be possible to resume exporting 80 days after the last case of AHS is confirmed. London News gave Hong Kong the international flavour they craved and South Africa has played an important role in building other countries’ international racing programmes since then. In Hong Kong, South Africa’s Group 1 raiding record is certainly unmatched in terms of strike rate as de Kock has landed wins with Eagle Mountain, Archipenko, and the South African-bred Irridescence, while J J the Jet Plane added another Group 1 there last year. South Africans have made a huge contribution to the success of the Dubai Racing Carnival and de Kock has been the leading trainer by earnings in Dubai on four occasions despite having had to take on the might of Godolphin in their own backyard. De Kock has won seven international Group 1 races in total in three different countries (Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore) and has won many other international Group and Listed races out of his Dubai and Newmarket (UK) yards. His compatriot Herman Brown has won three international Group 1 races, one in Dubai and two in Singapore. Of 11 international Group 1 wins by South Africans over the last decade, five have been by South African-bred horses and one by a Zimbabwean-bred. This is not to mention that South Africa has provided the Hong Kong champion jockey for the past 18 years as well as top ex-pat trainers around the world of the calibre of Tony Millard, David Ferraris, Pat Shaw, and David Payne. The global success of the likes of de Kock has led to overseas buyers taking a keen interest in South African Yearling Sales and this has given a huge boost to the local breeding industry, whose quality of bloodstock gets better and better. The wish to start showing their talent to the world is not only limited to raids on overseas races as South Africa is already geared to stage its own big international event, the Queen’s Plate, a famous Group 1 weight-for-age race over a mile generally run on the first Saturday of January at Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town. The 2012 renewal was expected to carry a stake cheque of US $1-million and to become South Africa’s first international thoroughbred horseracing event, but the current quarantine restrictions has meant that those plans have had to be postponed for the time being. De Kock’s recent comment included a wish that the South African government be lobbied as the lifting of stringent travel and quarantine restrictions would have an immensely positive effect on both revenue and employment and this will particularly favour the previously disadvantaged rural communities. All told, the South African horse community is holding thumbs that the worst of their AHS nightmare is behind them. It is hoped that their trading partners as well as the international racing community will support them in their dream to reach a level playing field and unleash new life onto the global stage.

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(European Trainer - issue 36 - Winter 2011)

INDUSTRYWebmaster25 November 2011Africa, Quarantine, African Horse Sickness, NAT36