Multi-species disease strikes Australia

BRISBANE, Australia, July 26 (UPI) -- A potentially fatal bat-borne virus disease in Australia has unexpectedly jumped to dogs, raising fears of another avenue for infecting people, authorities say.

Laboratory tests had shown cats, pigs and ferrets were capable of contracting and transmitting the Hendra virus but horses and people had been the only known casualties so far, The Australian reported Tuesday.

"This is the first time outside of a laboratory that an animal other than a flying fox (bat) or a horse or a human has been confirmed with Hendra virus infection," Queensland chief veterinarian Rick Symons said.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the development was "very worrying."

"We need to understand better what is happening with this disease," Bligh said. "It is relatively unknown and despite the scientific effort to date there are developments I think are very worrying."

Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said it was unknown whether dogs could transmit Hendra to humans but acknowledged that was "something we have to look at very carefully."

"This ... has changed our knowledge very significantly," she said. "It's the first time that another species has been infected so we do need to work that through."