A CHILD is among nine people awaiting test results today for the deadly Hendra virus, after exposure to a dying horse on Queensland's Sunshine Coast this week.
Queensland's chief health officer, Jeannette Young, said the people tested - including a vet who treated the horse, its owner and her young daughter - would not know any conclusive results for another six weeks.
"There is one young child who's been tested," she told reporters in Brisbane today.
"Nine people have potentially been exposed to the virus.
"If a person develops any symptoms at all we ask them urgently to go to their GP, contact the public health unit or go to their local hospital and we will test them immediately."
Queensland's chief veterinary officer, Ron Glanville, said the property at Tewantin, near Noosa, would be in quarantine "for some time" although no signs had been put up to alert the public.
He said another horse on the property had tested negative to the virus and would not be put down unless it became ill.
He urged all horse owners in Queensland to keep away from animals that showed "unusual" signs of illness, such as staggering or twitching.
"If you have a horse that's becoming sick and has any sort of unusual signs, call your vet and minimise your contact with the horse to protect yourself," he said.
The Tewantin outbreak is the 14th since the Hendra virus killed horse trainer Vic Rail in the Brisbane racetrack suburb of Hendra 16 years ago.
Symptoms in humans include flu-like illness, brain inflammation, high fevers, headache and drowsiness.
Four of the seven people infected with Hendra virus died, including vets Alister Rodgers and Ben Cunneen.
Scientists believe that fruit bats transmit the virus to horses, which can infect humans who come into close contact.
