Irish deny causing equine flu

THE strain of equine flu that has hit the Australian racing industry has never been found in Ireland, an expert says.

The Australian agriculture minister has confirmed that the outbreak is caused by the Wisconsin 2003 strain which has never been found in Ireland or the UK.

Professor Ann Cullinane of the Irish Equine Centre in Naas — which has been sequencing such outbreaks in Ireland since 1989 — said the evidence makes it almost impossible for the strain to have come from Ireland.