Racing: Flu spreads like 'wildfire'

SYDNEY - The veterinarian in charge of horses at Sydney's Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre says almost all those at the complex have equine influenza (EI).

Dr Tim Roberts said once the first horse tested positive it was impossible to halt the spread of the disease.

"You can see it clinically and 161 of the 165 horses have it," Roberts said. "It spreads like wildfire."

Dr Roberts has had previous experience with the disease in South Africa where an outbreak of EI caused racing to shut down for three months in the 1980s.

- AAP