ORIGINAL ARTICLE From the Horse’s Mouth: Perceptions of the Management of the 2007 Equine Influenza Outbreak in Australia K. Schemann 1 , S. M. Firestone 1 , M. R. Taylor 2 , J. -A. L. M. L. Toribio 1 , M. P. Ward 1 and N. K. Dhand 1 1 Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia 2 School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Penrith South DC, NSW, Australia Introduction The first-ever outbreak of equine influenza occurred in Australia in August 2007 affecting more than 70 thousand horses on more than nine thousand premises. The out- break spread over a large geographic area across two states, in eastern New South Wales (NSW) and south- eastern Queensland (Webster, 2011). The disease, which has a worldwide distribution and is considered endemic in all but three countries with substantial horse industries including Australia (OIE, 2008), was contained and eradi- cated within 5 months following substantial disease con- trol efforts led by federal and state animal health authorities (Glanville and Christie, 2011). The disease eradication campaign included movement restrictions, emergency vaccination, enhanced on-farm biosecurity and public awareness. Despite its timely control, this large-scale outbreak caused severe disruption to horse owners and industry participants, primarily because of movement restrictions, resulting in financial and emotional hardships and psy- chological distress (Taylor et al., 2008; Hoare, 2011; Smyth et al., 2011). Movement restrictions comprised an initial national horse movement standstill of 72 h fol- lowed by the creation of restricted and controlled zones within the two affected states (NSW and Queensland) Keywords: outbreak management; equine influenza; perceptions; ordinal logistic regression analysis; content analysis Correspondence: K. Schemann, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden 2570, NSW, Australia. Tel.: +61 2 93511669; Fax: +61 2 93511693; E-mail: kathrin.schemann@sydney.edu.au Received for publication November 8, 2011 doi:10.1111/j.1865-1682.2012.01305.x Summary In August 2007, Australia experienced its first-ever outbreak of equine influ- enza, a highly infectious respiratory disease of horses. Although the outbreak spread over a large geographic area, it was eradicated within 5 months follow- ing a substantial disease control effort led by federal and state animal health authorities. Despite its timely control, this large-scale outbreak caused severe impacts on horse owners and industry participants. This study aimed to describe the perceptions of horse owners and managers, impacted by outbreak control measures, regarding the state government’s animal health authority outbreak management. Participants were interviewed face-to-face. Factors asso- ciated with ordinal ratings of perception (‘well managed’, ‘adequately managed’ and ‘poorly managed’) were identified using ordinal logistic regression. Factors significantly associated with a reduced likelihood of ‘well-managed’ outbreak response ratings, adjusted for age and gender, were being involved in horse competitions/sporting events (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.25–0.91), managing a horse stud (OR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.03–0.28) and believing that another outbreak of equine influenza was highly likely in the next 5 years (OR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.12–0.68). Possible reasons for these ratings were further investigated using content analyses. Outbreak communications and government efficiency/support were mentioned most frequently as both strengths (30% and 28%, respectively) and weaknesses (40% and 30%, respectively) of the outbreak management. To promote manager–government rapport and future compliance with disease control regulations, we recommend that outbreak communications and out- break information systems be reviewed. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases ª 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH • Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 1