The Associated Press reports that 132 Hong Kong racehorses have been infected with equine herpes a year before the city is hosting the equestrian events for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games. It’s the territory’s worst outbreak of the disease.
But a spokesman for the equestrian event in Hong Kong said organizers aren’t worried about the equine herpes virus outbreak because it has ordered stringent quarantine measures to be used in 2008.
The horses became ill February 9, with symptoms of mild fever, blood problems and swelling in the legs, but according to the Hong Kong Jockey Club the horses recovered within a few days and most returned to training within a week.
Spokesman Wilson Cheng said Jockey Club officials suspect the herpes spread by shared horse equipment.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic equestrian events were switched to Hong Kong from Beijing because of concerns about equine disease on the mainland.
The herpes outbreak is the second major horse scare in recent weeks. On March 21 Jockey Club workers discovered a 40-foot metal hose that branched out into metal tubes embedded in the turf at the Happy Valley racecourse. Organizers insist security will be extremely tight for the 2008 events.
Meanwhile once the Games are over officials say they will put the naming rights of the 91,000-seat Olympic Stadium up for sale. They say there will be no block on a Western company securing the deal – as long as it’s “accepted” by the Chinese people.
Zhang Hengli, deputy manager of the National Stadium Company, told the Beijing News, “we have already started talks with a number of companies. Domestic or foreign companies are both entitled to bid to have their name on the stadium. Although we will carefully consider if the company will be accepted by the Chinese people”.
