Race horses in Victoria need to be vaccinated against equine influenza before the industry suffers more pain, Randwick trainer John O'Shea said.

O'Shea said Victorian horses must be protected from the highly contagious virus which has already spread rapidly throughout NSW and Queensland.

Randwick racecourse has been quarantined after EI infiltrated its 700-strong racehorse population last week.

O'Shea said virtually all of the 50 horses at his stable were now infected.

Based on what he has seen at Randwick, O'Shea believes EI will not stop at state borders and says Victorian horses should be vaccinated to protect them against it.

"I think it is inevitable it will end up in Victoria," O'Shea said.

"It will end up everywhere and they're kidding themselves if they think isolation is going to work.

"We've seen this week it's not working.

"As they procrastinate on whether to vaccinate or not ... they're risking our industry and the long-term viability of our industry.

"The rest of the world deals with it (EI) through vaccination so why should we be any different."

But director of veterinary services at Racing Victoria, John McCaffery, said vaccination would be a last resort and an indication that the battle against the disease had been lost.

He said the idea of vaccinating horses in Victoria over-simplified a complicated issue and that a national group, the Consultative Committee of Emergency Animal Diseases, had been holding daily teleconferences to discuss a range of issues, including vaccination.

"It is a dual-edged sword," McCaffery said.

"It is a flippant thing to say that (vaccination) is the answer to all your woes."

Full article at http://www.theage.com.au/news/Natio...8783210972.html