Figure  2:  Horse  owners’  a,tudes  towards  flying  foxes  and  their  management  in  regards  to  HeV.  Each  bar  represents  the  propor>on  (%)  of  the  577  respondents  for  each  response    

“As  long  as  we’ve  had  bats,  we’ve  had  Hendra”  –  Horse  owners’  knowledge  and  risk  perception  of  <lying  foxes  in  regards  to  Hendra  virus  

Eliza  McDonald1,  Anke  Wiethoelter1,2,  Melanie  Taylor2,  Nicole  Schembri2,  Navneet  Dhand1,  Nina  Kung3,  Barbara  Moloney4,  Therese  Wright4,  Hume  Field3,5  and  Jenny-­‐Ann  Toribio1    

 

1Faculty  of  Veterinary  Science,  The  University  of  Sydney,  2Centre  for  Health  Research,  University  of  Western  Sydney,  3Queensland  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries,  4New  South  Wales  Department  of  Primary  Industries,  5EcoHealth  Alliance  

•  Hendra  virus  (HeV)  –  zoonosis  of  public  health  concern  in  Australia  •  Spills  over  from  flying  foxes  (Pteropus  spp.)  to  horses  and  from  horses  to  

humans  •  High  fatality  rate  –  75%  in  horses  and  57%  in  humans  (Kung  et  al.  2013)  •  53  spillover  events  since  iden>fica>on  in  Hendra,  Queensland  in  1994  –  all  

spillover  loca>ons  overlap  with  distribu>on  of  flying  fox  species  (see  Figure  1)  

HENDRA  VIRUS  BACKGROUND  

This  study  is  part  of  the  Horse  owners  and  Hendra  virus:  A  Longitudinal  cohort  study  To  Evaluate  Risk  (HHALTER)  project  and  focuses  on  the  knowledge,  risk  percep>on  and  a,tudes  of  horse  owners  towards  flying  foxes  as  the  reservoir  hosts  of  HeV.  Data  presented  here  are  based  on  responses  of  the  577  par>cipa>ng  horse  owners  in  a  self-­‐administered  online  survey  in  December  2014.  Ordinal  logis>c  regression  was  conducted  to  evaluate  the  influence  of  various  factors  on  horse  owners’  risk  percep>on  of  flying  foxes  as  a  current  threat  to  the  health  of  horse(s)  on  their  proper>es,  categorised  as  ‘yes’,  ‘unsure’  and  ‘no’.        

 

METHODS  

ATTITUDES  &  RISK  PERCEPTION  TOWARDS  FLYING  FOXES  

Hall,  L.S  and  Richards,  G  2000,  ‘Flying  foxes:  fruit  and  blossom  bats  of  Australia.’  (University  of  New  South  Wales  Press:  Sydney);    Kung,  N,  McLaughlin,  A,  Taylor,  M,  Moloney,  B,  Wright,  T  &  Field,  H  2013,  'Hendra  virus  and  horse  owners  -­‐  risk  percep>on  and  management',  PLOS  One,    vol.  8,    no.  11,  pp.  1-­‐8.;    Queensland  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  (2014).  "Hendra  Virus.”  Retrieved  9  March  2015,  from  hkps://www.daff.qld.gov.au/animal-­‐industries/animal-­‐health-­‐and-­‐diseases/a-­‐z-­‐list/;  New  South  Wales  Department  of  Primary  Industries  (2015).  “Hendra  virus  case  confirmed  on  NSW  north  coast.”  Retrieved  18  July  2015,  from  hkp://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/all/2015/hendra-­‐virus-­‐confirmed-­‐on-­‐nsw-­‐north-­‐coast            

REFERENCES  

CONCLUSIONS  

STUDY  OBJECTIVES  1.  Iden>fy  horse  owners’  a,tudes  towards  flying  foxes  in  regards  to  HeV  and  

their  management  2.  Evaluate  factors  influencing  horse  owners’  risk  percep>on  of  flying  foxes  

and  how  these  may  impact  subsequent  uptake  of  risk  mi>ga>on  strategies  

Flying  foxes  were  perceived  as  a  current  threat  to  the  health  of  horse(s)  on  their  property  by  18%  of  horse  owners  and  not  viewed  as  a  threat  by  71%,  with  the  remainder  of  horse  owners  ‘unsure’.  

Out  of  the  104  respondents  who  did  perceive  flying  foxes  as  a  threat:  •  84%  had  vaccinated  either  all  or  some  of  their  horses  •  96%  lived  in  Queensland  or  New  South  Wales  •  52%  lived  less  than  50km  from  the  nearest  HeV  case  in  a  horse  

Furthermore,  horse  owners  who  saw  flying  foxes  either  nearby  or  on  their  horse  property  were  11  >mes  more  likely  to  perceive  them  as  a  threat  compared  to  those  who  did  not  see  them  (P  <  0.001).  Addi>onally,  those  who  believed  a  HeV  case  was  very  likely  to  occur  in  their  area  were  28  >mes  more  likely  to  perceive  them  as  a  threat  compared  to  those  who  believed  it  was  not  at  all  likely  to  occur  (P  <  0.001)  (see  Figure  3).  

•  Most  horse  owners  did  not  perceive  flying  foxes  as  a  current  threat  to  the  health  of  horse(s)  on  their  proper>es  •  However,  the  majority  of  those  who  did  perceive  flying  foxes  as  a  threat  kept  horses  in  or  close  to  HeV  affected  regions  and  had  implemented  risk  mi>ga>on  

measures  by  vaccina>ng  some  or  all  of  their  horse(s)  •  Sigh>ngs  of  flying  foxes  and  a  belief  that  a  HeV  case  is  likely  to  occur  in  their  area  are  among  the  most  influen>al  factors  on  owners’  risk  percep>on  of  flying  foxes  •  The  majority  of  horse  owners  recognised  the  need  for  flying  foxes,  par>cularly  in  respect  to  the  important  role  they  play  in  the  environment  •  These  findings  will  inform  government  agencies  and  the  equine  industry  on  a,tudes  of  horse  owners  towards  flying  foxes  in  regards  to  HeV  and  could  be  used  to  

enhance  communica>on  around  risk  mi>ga>on  strategies  

Such  factors  included:  1.  Demographics  2.  HeV  risk  awareness  and  risk  mi>ga>on  

strategies,  including  vaccina>on  and  property  management  

3.  A,tudes  and  percep>on  towards  flying  foxes  and  camp  management  

Figure  3:  Influence  of  sigh>ngs  of  flying  foxes  nearby  or  on  horse  proper>es  reported  by  horse  owners  and  the  likelihood  of  a  HeV  case  in  area  perceived  by  horse  owners  on  their  risk  percep>on  of  flying  foxes  

0%   50%   100%  

We  don't  need  them  

They  should  not  be  protected  

They  should  not  be  culled/shot  

They  pose  a  significant  health  threat  to  people  

They  play  an  important  role  in  the  environment  

Propor>on  (%)  of  horse  owners  

Agree   Neutral   Disagree  

Figure  1:  Loca>ons  of  HeV  cases  overlapping  with  the  distribu>on  of  flying  fox  popula>ons  

Credit:  Silvia  2014  

Credit:  Niland  2012  

Horse  owners  displayed  various  a,tudes  towards  flying  foxes  in  regards  to  HeV  and  their  management  (see  Figure  2):  

Factors  Influencing  Horse  Owners’  Risk  PercepGon  of  Flying  Foxes  to  Horse  Health  

AJtudes  Towards  Flying  Foxes  

Spectacled  flying  fox  (P.    conspicillatus)  Black  flying  fox  (P.  alecto)  Grey-­‐headed  flying  fox  (P.  poliocephalus)  Southern  inland  limit  of  likle  red  flying  fox  (P.  scapulatus)  HeV  spillover  event  loca>ons  

Adapted  from  Hall  &  Richards  (2000)  

The  University  of  Western  Sydney  was  contracted  by  the  Rural  Industries  Research  and  Development  Corpora>on  to  undertake  this  research  project.  This  research  was  funded  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  the  State  of  New  South  Wales  and  the  State  of  Queensland  under  the  Na>onal  Hendra  Virus  Research  Program.    

(DAFF  2014;  NSW  DPI  2015)  

Owners’  Percep>on  of  Flying  Foxes  as  a  Threat    

0%  

50%  

100%  

Yes   Unsure   No  

Prop

or>o

n  

Sigh>ngs  of  Flying  Foxes  

Very  likely   Moderately  likely  

Not  at  all  likely  

Likelihood  of  HeV  in  Area  

Yes   Unsure   No