Hendra virus horse put down
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Gold Coast racehorse 'Tamworth' was infected with the virus at the Redlands Veterinary Clinic last month. (ABC TV)
A racehorse that survived an outbreak of the Hendra virus has been euthanased in Brisbane.
Gold Coast racehorse 'Tamworth' was infected with the virus at the Redlands Veterinary Clinic last month.
Two staff from the practice remain in hospital being treated for the potentially deadly virus.
A final round of blood tests this week cleared 12 other staff at the clinic of the virus.
Queensland Health says there will not be any further human tests for the virus.
The $200,000 racehorse recovered, but national biosecurity guidelines stipulate horses infected with the virus must be put down as a precaution.
Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) officers administered a lethal injection at about 10am AEST.
There had been calls for the horse to be kept alive and used for research, but Biosecurity Queensland chief vet Dr Ron Glanville said it would be too dangerous.
"In terms of the risk to people who would be handling this horse on an ongoing basis it would probably be limited information that we would gain from keeping the animal alive," he said.
The horse's breeder Warren Small says the decision was wrong and he wants compensation for losing his horse.
