Rambler's Legacy - Rapid Hendra Test

Rambler’s Legacy – GoFundMe – For a Rapid Diagnostic Test to exclude Hendra virus.

A clear way forward for the veterinary profession, owners and the horse industry at large. 

Rambler, a beautiful champion horse and much loved family member, sadly lost his life on Sunday, 1st September. He became sick the previous day with suspected plant poisoning and was in need of urgent, life-saving veterinary treatment. This treatment was denied and he was euthanized on humane grounds.

The veterinarians refused treatment, as Rambler, although he had been given 9 Hendra vaccinations over a 5 year period and had not been to a known Hendra area in recent months, was over-due for his annual booster. They insisted upon a Hendra exclusion test first, the results of which did not arrive until 3 days later – too late for Rambler.

Rambler’s family don’t want his life nor the cause of his death to be forgotten or in vain. 

The problem is that a Hendra exclusion test can often take days to return a result, leaving horses to suffer from limited or no treatment in the meantime. This puts horse owners who may someday urgently need a vet in a quandary, as a growing number have concerns about the Hendra vaccine’s high level of adverse reactions – often from first-hand experience – as well as the low level of efficacy assigned to it in the label claim.

Like this particular vaccine or not, a rapid Hendra exclusion test would benefit owners and vets alike.

A rapid test to exclude Hendra would improve safety for vets managing a sick horse, where Hendra virus infection is in the differential diagnosis. It would expedite treatment of unwell horses, assist with the diagnostic workup and give vets confidence by accurately and quickly excluding Hendra on site.

Rambler’s Legacy is to have this test become a reality ASAP and save our horses whilst giving veterinarians the confidence to get on with their jobs and save horses.

Quote from Rambler's family :  "We promised Rambler's death wouldn't be in vain and here is how you can help prevent further tragedies".

Dr Joanne Macdonald, in collaboration with USC, has proposed a way to produce a Hendra Rapid Test. The test would be a quick (10-15 min), on-site test. Preliminary results indicate the test could be as accurate and as sensitive as the tests now in use. It should work on both vaccinated and unvaccinated horses as it detects the viral genome of the Hendra virus itself, not antibodies. Its earlier development was halted due to a lack of funding. Fortunately, Dr Macdonald was able to continue successfully developing the Rapid Test technology for diagnosis of other human diseases. This other research is directly applicable to the Rapid Test for Hendra exclusion and will speed up development.

She now requires funding to apply these new developments to the Hendra Rapid Test, and progress the test to production stage.

This GoFundMe has been set at $22,000 in order to get the development restarted as soon as possible with the help of the Australian horse owning community, while we undertake to raise a further $130,000 from corporate/business partners to further bring this to market. Partners will the be sought to bring the test to production through joint industry/government funding once our early funding has demonstrated safety, efficacy, and usability of the Test. We’ll update the donation tally regularly on Rambler’s Legacy Facebook page. If these funds can be raised, then a field-ready product could be ready for manufacture within a year, and available as a product as soon as two years.

You can read more about Joanne’s work here:

https://www.usc.edu.au/connect/giving-to-usc/giving-opportunities/hendra-virus-research


All donations $2 or more are tax deductible.  If you require a tax receipt, please donate direct to Joanne’s USC page using the green tab:

“Make a donation via USC’s payment gateway”

Then the dropdown box “Donation Type” choose “Hendra Virus”

It’s time for the horse owning community to step up and solve this debacle that has ravaged our industry and forced owners out of the sport. 

 You can follow Rambler’s story on his Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Ramblers-Legacy-101234131272660/

and

https://www.facebook.com/Champs-Group-472662386261429/

 
More about Dr Joanne Macdonald may be found at:

https://www.usc.edu.au/staff-repository/associate-professor-joanne-macdonald

About me:  Let me introduce myself . It is my name that is on the GoFundMe page as I set it up. I have been involved in the hendra topic since losing my very dear old horse to the vaccine almost 6 years ago.  I am from Newcastle in NSW and run an Equestrian Centre and am also an Equine Bowen Therapist.  Animal welfare is very important to me.   Karen, India (Rambler's owners) and myself are in regular contact and it was decided that now is the time to push this rapid testing in Rambler's memory so no more horses lose their lives unnecessarily. You have a choice of using the GoFundMe link which we felt was easy to share on social media, or you can go direct to the USC (University of Sunshine Coast) link listed in the information.  We will all oversee the money transfer from the GoFundMe direct to the research account of Joanne Macdonald at the USC and she will also update us on direct donations she receives.  This horse was in Wagga, did not have hendra, had not been to a hendra area in recent months, and had previously been jabbed 9 times with the hendra vaccine over a 5 year period. If Rambler was denied treatment, then all our horses are at risk of the same demise.


Brief background Hendra virus: “Hendra virus is a zoonotic disease, which means it can transfer from animals to people. Hendra virus can cause disease in animals and, rarely, in humans. First discovered in 1994 at a racing stable in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, it has caused the death of more than 80 horses across Queensland and New South Wales."³ It also claimed the lives of 4 out of the 7 humans infected between 1994 and 2009.  We note though the mandatory euthanasia policy of Hendra positive horses if recovered has since been revoked. Also the last human case was is 2009.

Although it is a rare disease, it is serious in both horses and humans. It is not very contagious, but humans have been infected following high risk activities, such as post-mortem examinations or certain veterinary procedures, that has led to extensive exposure to secretions and blood of an infected horse. In all cases of transmission, people did not use adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).⁴ There have been no infections from casual exposure.⁴

References:

1. http://websvr.infopest.com.au/LabelRouter?LabelType=L&Mode=1&ProductCode=68996

2. https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/injury-prevention-safety/hazardous-exposures/biological-hazards/diseases-from-animals/hendra-virus/hendra-virus-information-for-veterinarians/managing-risks#contact-sick-horse

3. https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/livestock/horses/hendra-virus/what-is

4. https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cdna-song-hendra.htm